


Project A

by Momoichi



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Explicit Language, Hanamiya hates people, Jealousy, M/M, Snowstorms, Winter Cup, and hates squids, and kiyoshi is way too patient i guess, imayoshi the librarian, kuroko is observant, snowball fights, some basketball ranting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-02
Updated: 2016-03-10
Packaged: 2018-04-12 15:32:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 21,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4484795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Momoichi/pseuds/Momoichi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>...Fortunately, the library was empty today. Except Imayoshi of course. But he didn't count. Not even as a human.<br/>Just him, the books... and that tall guy that just entered... and sent such a radiant smile his way that Hanamiya had to grip his table to overcome  momentary nausea. Not many people would dare to approach him, he knew, but something about the man screamed 'self-preservation instinct free'. He hated that people the most. They almost begged to get knocked down an endless staircase...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. At the library

**Author's Note:**

> Soo, I'm new to the fandom-hell, I'm new to this whole AO3 and fanfic thing- so I just wanted to take up some space to say hi! And i gotta say thanks to all of you guys who write and make my day with your works!  
> I just felt an irresistible urge once to write something for this ship, 'cause we don't have near enough of it and decided to share it. I hope i won't disappoint anybody and that the characters don't act abnormally OOC. As you might have noticed, this is an AU. Hanamiya quit basketball after leaving elementary school and Kiyoshi is still playing ball for Seirin but his knees are still before collapsing(had no 'accidents'). It was supposed to be oneshot but it has chapter-ish feel to it so i might continue it.  
> It's my first published work so comments are highly appreciated! Don't be afraid to point up my grammar mistakes(beta-free XD) or ask if something there doesn't make much sense. Enjoy!!

Once in a month maybe, there happened to be a day when no-one but Hanamiya bothered to go to the library. An important match was on, it was too hot or too cold, eruptions on the Sun and other shit, or the people were simply too lazy to educate their hollow heads.

Not that they'd get any more bearable after getting through all volumes of quantum physics. Humans simply managed to annoy the hell out of him every time. Fortunately, the library was empty. Except Imayoshi of course. But he didn't count. Not even as a human.

Just him, the books... and that tall guy that just entered... and sent such a radiant smile his way that Hanamiya had to grip his table to overcome momentary nausea. Not many people would dare to approach him, he knew, but something about the man screamed 'self-preservation instinct free'. He hated that people the most. They almost begged to get knocked down an endless staircase.

For a moment it looked promising, the stranger observed him from a distance, evaluating. His eyes darted around the empty room full of empty chairs, pausing to look back again. And that's when he deviated from what should be 'normal' and headed straight to Hanamiya. He grabbed the chair next to him but froze when he received a death glare.

'Can I sit here?' another one of those retarded smiles followed.

'Get the fuck away from me, imbecile.' the guy froze, completely startled. Then he took a breath, composing himself. Small smile appeared on his lips, as if he knew some secret. He went around the table, laying one of his ridiculously big hands teasingly on the opposite chair this time. The next ten seconds or more turned into a battle of wills as Hanamiya kept sending the best 'do it and I'm so fucking gonna kill you' stare he could manage, against the 'mashed sunshine with unicorn topping' look he was receiving. Notwithstanding, the jerk sat down. Not a trace of survival instinct left in him, it seemed.

He put the few books he had with him down on the table next to Makoto's. The simple act somehow made Hanamiya's stomach turn. Not even the books were good, trash fits best with trash after all.

'It's Kiyoshi Teppei, by the way. With the 'tree' and th-'

'If you don't wanna have me engrave it on your headstone, just shut up.'

'And your name?'

'Not your fucking business.'

'You're not very friendly, huh?' the idiot was smiling again, widely. He must had made it his New Year's resolution to befriend everybody he lays his eyes on. The black haired male was already gritting his teeth from frustration. He wanted to crush this particular person so bad. He wondered what would the jackass do if he hit him square in his ugly boring face. It'd wash the smile off for sure. Fixated on the overly peaceful expression before him and his not-so overly peaceful thoughts, he hadn't even noticed the man's mouth started moving but he did notice when it stopped. Kiyoshi was waiting for some response, to what, Hanamiya had no clue.

'Were you braying something, ass?'

'I said you got a nice set of books here.' Makoto looked down with a huff at the open '120 days of Sodom' in his hands, resisting the sudden homicidal urge he got just from hearing that voice.

'Really?' he asked shyly instead, as if it was the greatest compliment.

'Y-yeah..' the other looked baffled by the sudden change in behavior, but pleased nonetheless, shifting closer in his chair. He gave him a reassuring smile.

'Would... would you like to rea-read it...?' Hanamiya didn't know if stuttering was too much but that jerk would believe anything. He tried avoiding eye contact, fiddle with the book cover and generally look all embarrassed and shy. That always works. He'd even deceived Imayoshi once with that. He could bet th-what was that idiot doing?! No, no, he totally wasn't reaching his hand to him! Bale was rising in his throat but he did his best not to let it show.

Kiyoshi lifted his chin so their eyes would meet again. He really made him wanna puke, just another goody-two-shoes wrapped in all the gentleness and sweetness of the world. He'll be on insulin doses if it goes on.

'Of course, if it makes you happy.' _'Just read it, imbecile, so that I can end this fucking farce.'_ was the only thing that went through Hanamiya's head at the moment. Maybe aside of: _'God, i'd have to scrub my face off if you fondle with it a second longer.'_ Finally Kiyoshi took the book from his hands, pausing at the cover for a moment, but decided to start reading anyway.

At that time, his face could remind one of a rainbow. It's color quickly went from light pink to deep shades of red, then paled to unhealthy white and finally, green. That's when Makoto couldn't take it any longer and burst out laughing. The look he received for that was priceless too.

'Idiiiot, you're so pathetic. Did you expect a fucking romance novel?!' Teppei's brows knitted together, he couldn't grasp the change at all.

'It doesn't matter...' he smirked.

'...I made you laugh after all.' that managed to render Hanamiya speechless for a while. Bowing his head, he bit his lips. His mind went suddenly blank.

'Don't be like that...' Kiyoshi started softly. His outstretched hand got slapped away. An empty chuckle made it's way past Makoto's lips.

'Don't you fucking touch me, trash. You make me wanna puke.'

'Is that so...' the mirth disappeared from the man's voice. He gingerly closed the borrowed book, putting it back in front of Hanamiya. With a sigh, he opened one of his books.

'Are you so fucking dense?!! Get lost!' another sigh followed. Kiyoshi gave him a sad smile.

'I can't.'

'Did you forget how to walk?!!' Makoto snapped back.

'If I go there's no one else, right?' unable to speak again, Hanamiya bit down harder and his teeth broke through the skin, drawing blood. His hands resting on the table started shaking.

He hated the man. Hated his very guts. Acting all responsible and protective. If he had any chance of getting away with it, he'd break both of his legs right now. Still, as if there was something stopping him from reaching over the table and breaking his facade. An invisible barrier, as if he got caught in a web that wasn't of his own making.

He stared into a book he'd randomly picked up from his stash, engulfed in the suffocating silence stretching between them. Kiyoshi kept glancing at him over his book when he was certain it'd go unnoticed. Every time Hanamiya looked back at him, the man would smile. After all of this he still hasn't given up on him. Makoto didn't even have a strength left to hate him for it.

'Hey, do you play?'

'Play what?' black haired male gave him an irritated look.

'Basketball, of course!' Teppei excitedly threw his hands in the air, waving with the 'Origins of team sports: basketball.'

'I used to play some in the middle school. Fitting for an oaf like you.'

'We definitely gotta play sometime!' ignoring the last comment, Kiyoshi sprang to life again. His eyes were oddly shining, Hanamiya noticed.

'I bet you're good!' before it could be answered, doors flew open and a man hurtled out of them. Even with his simply cut black hair, average looks and glasses he got Kiyoshi's full attention the moment he walked in. Makoto should be thankful but a pang of something unrecognised burrowed in his guts.

'Kiyoshi, you bastard!' shouted the intruder despite the fact that he was in a library. Teppei just waved him with a wide smile.

'Hey, Hyuuga!'

'I've been waiting a freaking hour, Kiyoshi!'

'Hmm... that's weird it's just... 5:20, right?' he wondered after a long look at the clocks on the nearby wall.

'Exactly, we were meeting at half past four! Now move you damn idiot or i'll drag you out!!'

'Oh, my bad, my bad. I'll be off.' getting up from the chair, he grabbed all of his books into one huge hand, pausing for a moment when he realized Hanamiya was still sitting there.

'Um, sorry, I gotta go already.'

'Finally.'

'You come here often right, we'll meet again.'

'I'd rather get ran over by a truck. Twice.'

'Is that so?' it sounded more like a teasing because he was still smiling, maybe even more that before. The 'Hyuuga' guy was waiting by the door, getting inches closer to literally hauling the bigger male out with every passing second. Teppei placed the books back up in the shelves in haste, trying to avoid any future harm Hyuuga would inflict upon him if he didn't hurry up. However he stopped while walking past Makoto and their eyes met. He'd seriously get punched for that later, he knew.

'Till next time then.' for a long while there was no response and Kiyoshi hadn't even expected any, crossing the room with hurried steps. Still, he could hear it, the proof that his efforts weren't wasted.

 

'Looks like I can't do much about it anyway.'


	2. The plastic bag issue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'Hey, Hyuuga. I think I took somebody's bag.'  
> 'That's nothing to smile about, idiot!'
> 
> Alias, how it came to pass that Kiyoshi had to try Hanamiya's patience again.  
> Really, does he have a death wish?  
> Wait-what? Basketball?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... that took a while T-T  
> Anyway, thanks for all the kudos, thanks to that i somehow forced myself to do a second chapter XD  
> I hope it'll get easier from now on, but... well...  
> Anyway, enjoy and let me know what you think ;D

'...just makes me wonder, what were _you_ doing in a library...?!'

'Don't say it like that, Hyuuga. I can enjoy books too.' he smiled but his friend still continued giving him a look of disbelief. Finally, he resigned, shaking his head.

'Any good books?' oddly enough Kiyoshi stopped walking and scratched his head sheepishly.

'I didn't really have enough time for that...' Hyuuga turned around and let out a short chuckle.

'That's so like you.' he sighed, rearranging his scarf around his neck so the cold evening air wouldn't get to his skin.

He started walking again, slowly, until he heard the reassuring sound of footsteps following him. Then, abruptly stopping, he glanced back at Kiyoshi, who stared confused back at him.

'Then you didn't borrow any books?' it took the taller man a while to progress that. He understood the sentence just not what it had to do wi-

Looking down he found out that he was holding a plastic bag he never had. He curiously opened it to reveal three or four books he couldn't have borrowed. He looked back at Junpei, smiling carelessly.

'Hey, Hyuuga. I think I took somebody's bag.'

'That's nothing to smile about, idiot!'

'Maybe I grabbed it in the Maji burger...?'

'You've been carrying it round the whole day!'

'I think I know who...! I gotta get it back to the library!'

'You know who what? Hey, wait!!' he started shouting when Teppei broke to run.

'Kiyoshi, you bastard!'

 

 

'It's past the opening hours, come back tomorrow.' the librarian said with a grin. He was just locking the personnel doors when Kiyoshi nearly collapsed next to him. As always, the man kept his eyes closed for reasons entirely unknown to Teppei. At this point, he was close to believing that it was due to some curious medical condition.

'Please, do you know that guy I was talking to this afternoon?' After hearing that, Imayoshi's eyelids lifted up for a slight second, maybe in surprise, but the smirk was soon back in place.

'I do.'

'Are those his books?' Teppei shoved the bag into librarian's hands, waiting. The man returned it after one quick look, grinning.

'Sure.'

'Can you give those to him then?'

'No can do.'

'Wait, I thou-'

'He's doing his best to stay as far from me as possible.'

'Please, I don't even know whe-'

'Saturday around four pm.,... that should do, right? Since you seem to get along that well.' with that he turned and walked away before Kiyoshi could ask him something else.

That's why he never liked talking to the man. It was like he could read minds and everything was a part of his grand scheme. The thought only strengthened the feeling that he was being played with.

Sighing, he started walking in the opposite direction.

Not that it changed a thing for him anyway...

 

 

'Hey, raven hair!'

Just when Hanamiya was heading home from the library he heard the familiar voice again. And he didn't need to turn around to check whose. Few other people with black hair looked back when they heard him though, rather confused.

Kiyoshi was pushing his way through the crowd, waving around with some plastic bag, look of stubborn determination on his face.

Makoto meanwhile, tried his hardest to get as far away from his pursuer as possible. Turning right round a bistro he disappeared into a back alley, far from sight.

'Funny eyebrows!'

That was new. He'd been called many names, but nobody ever mentioned his eyebrows. The guy must be really desperate, he didn't even give him his name after all.

After a while, he figured that the basketball guy must had walked past him and probably gave up. Grinning, he walked out of his hiding place just to come face to face with his real-life nightmare.

If Hanamiya looked surprised-or more like shocked-it was nothing compared to how surprised was Kiyoshi. In fragment of a second his face lit up, the corners of his mouth twisting upwards into a victorious smile.

'Found you!'

'Not fucking you again!'

'Sorry, I think I got your bag.' one of Makoto's 'funny eyebrows' lifted in question.

'Did you fall and squash your brain?' reaching down he lifted up _his_ bag. Kiyoshi stared at it, trying to keep his lower jaw from falling down on the pavement. Coming back to his senses, he scratched the back of his head, embarrassed.

'Are you sure it isn't yours?' Teppei started pulling out the books and pushing them into Hanamiya's hands. After a quick look the shorter male lifted one particular up for him to see.

' _This_ is The secret of French fucking cuisine.'

'Yeah...' Kiyoshi could feel the sweat running down his spine.

'And _this_ is new pocket edition of Kama Sutra.' he gulped audibly.

'I didn't really... look at them...'

'You're forgiven, take your shit and leave.' Teppei let out a long tired sigh, leaning onto the wall for support.

'Are you telling me that after I spent whole day looking for you?' a short nod.

'I got no clue whose it is then.' he sighed, life draining from him.

'You should do that more often.' Hanamiya grinned.

'What more often?' Teppei lifted his head, confused.

'Look miserable, it's making me happy.' with another sigh the taller man turned his eyes to the bag again.

'You don't know whose could it be, right?'

'Do I look like I do? Just drop it to the river there, bye, bye.'

'Huh and I thought you gave up pushing me aside last time?'

'And I thought you gave up your own existence. Disappointing, huh?'

'You know, you won't get any girl acting like that, try being more friendly.'

'Fuck off.'

'Really, why don't you even try?' that earned him a deadly look from the other man.

'What if I don't wanna try. Ever. Has that thought crossed your mind, pig brain?' as if he declared the meeting was over, Hanamiya started walking away back into the crowded street. Shrugging his shoulders Kiyoshi reluctantly followed.

He had no idea what to do. He might drop by at the library and leave the books there but it wasn't that far. He'd still have lot of free time afterwards.

No weekend practise and Hyuuga was in the country visiting his grandparents. He didn't really feel like spending the rest of the day at ho-

'Raven hair!' somewhere far ahead in the crowd one figure jerked to an abrupt stop. It's eyes found him and sent him a deathly glare.

'Come to basketball court with me?!' he shouted, already moving forward. People were giving him odd stares again.

Surprisingly though, when he finally reached him, Makoto didn't even try to walk away. He simply stood there, waiting-albeit he looked rather irritated.

'What the hell?!!' he barked at Teppei when they were a mere meter apart.

'There's court nearby and I got nothing to do and... you said you used to played ball, right?' somehow, Kiyoshi felt pretty embarrassed just saying the sentence. It must had had something to do with the glare he was getting.

'Sure, it's not as if I got something better.'

'Really?! Then let's-'

'Did you really think i'd say that, idiot?' Kiyoshi sighed and shook his head in response. Then he suddenly leaned even closer and grinned.

'And i'll leave you alone...'

'Am I supposed to believe that?'

'I swear I won't enter the library when you're in. That is if you can win against me in one on one.'

Hanamiya frowned, considering it for a while. Finally, with a resigned look on his face, he nodded.

It might not stop the idiot stalking him-like he did today-but he'll be at least able to enjoy his solitude in the library. He didn't need to worry about him keeping the promise, he was too goody for that.

But the problem was that the big-hand freak won't leave him alone even after that. He'll keep looking for him and annoying him. Makoto was sure of that. Watching the man look at him was like watching a curious kid staring fascinated at a beetle, waiting for it to move.

All the reason to hate him more, in Hanamiya's opinion. He looks like he's so fucking proud of himself for being such goody-two-shoes and that alone made Makoto sick. He didn't need to pretend anything. He knew he was too different to get along with anybody.

And even the ridiculous amount of effort and patience that the Kiyoshi guy was demonstrating won't change that. Ever!

 

 


	3. Hanamiya Makoto

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plan was easy: win, laugh in Kiyoshi's face and never ever see him again.  
> However the Fortune must have had a busy day or she was plainly sadistic and left him hanging on a purpose.  
> But is it really that bad?

Honestly, it's been a while since Hanamiya played. The ball in his hands felt too big and heavy. Like it might slip out of his hands any minute.

Kiyoshi must have noticed it too so he let him train alone for a while. Even though the taller male didn't look like much, he must be quite observant when it comes to basket. Guess that's to be expected from the Iron heart though.

He wouldn't forget a face like that. The simpleton didn't seem to recognise him but they played together once before, at official match in an elementary school. However Imayoshi had him benched through most of the game because other team members hated the way he played. Trying to look so fucking proper.

Jumping, he made a shot, ball falling through the rim. Teppei applauded, grinning like an idiot he was. He could show off more, he knew, but he preferred to look as harmless as possible. Running slower, jumping little and shooting without aiming properly.

When he was thoroughly stretched he nodded to Kiyoshi leaning onto the fence surrounding the court. Once he saw him take off his jacket he tossed the ball in his direction, not really caring where it lands.

Unfortunately, though rather surprised, the taller male caught it in one of his big hands and moved to stand under what he determined was his basket.

'Ready?'

'To break your dreams and a few limbs?!'

'Then here I come!'

As expected, Teppei went easy on him at the beginning. Thanks to that Makoto was able to get four points out of him without really trying-plus, his startled expression was a thing to remember.

After that, he got serious and it was harder to score. He was good on both defence and offence and had the height advantage. The fact that he could move the ball mid-air was troublesome too. With no other players to distract him or slow him down, steals were difficult too.

Hanamiya had to start with three-pointers, another thing Kiyoshi didn't expect him to have up his sleeve. Somehow the score was 10:8 for him. They both agreed that the first one to get fifteen points is the winner but it was too soon to celebrate.

With few more dunks from Teppei and a successful fake from Makoto it was 12:12. No good.

Then, after much pushing and running around, Iron heart got another ball in. A little accident happened shortly before it, knocking him to the ground, but that couldn't have been intended. Even if it was it didn't yield expected results.

With nothing else up his sleeve and growing rather irritated, the raven haired male had to settle for the tear-drop shot. Luckily, it went in smoothly, flying past the defence easily.

Eyes darting from the basket and back to Makoto, Kiyoshi whistled appreciatively. A rather irritating sound.

'Wow, you can shoot those?!'

'As many as I like.' that was only partially true, but thanks to his calculations there was a solid 72% chance of success.

'I won.' he declared, trying to catch his breath. The two years without practices dealt his stamina quite a blow. But judging by the fact that Teppei was in a similar condition it wasn't that severe.

'Yeah, let's go get some dinner.' the other male grinned, wiping the sweat of his face with a corner of his sweaty shirt. Hanamiya made a face, ready to turn him down but got interrupted.

'My treat...' his smile grew ever wider.

It took Makoto a while to think it through but he gave up in the end.

'Whatever. Where are we going?'

 

 

'Are you really going to eat that?' Kiyoshi suspiciously eyed the steaming plate packed with grilled squids and octopus placed in front of Hanamiya.

'If I said i'm not, would you buy me something else?' he replied, grinning. Sure enough there was no answer. Nodding to himself, he picked up the chopsticks, deciding which piece he'll start with.

'It looks so disgusting and sticky.' Teppei remarked, frowning. Expression that didn't quite seem to fit his always cheerful face.

'All the more reason to for me to eat it, no?' he carried the tiny corpse to his mouth, making a show of slowly eating it. One tentacle was still sticking out of his mouth and while it was being sucked inside it twitched as if still trying to fight it's way out.

He licked his oily lips afterwards, aware of the bewildered stare he was getting from the other side of the table.

'Don't you have food to eat?' he asked in a conversational tone but with a slight jab at the end. The one in question blinked rapidly a few times, startled. Looking down he was quite surprised to find that he indeed had.

He gave a sheepish smile and started slowly eating. The process was made even slower by the fact that every time he looked up he'd see Makoto consuming the rest of his revolting dish in the very similar fashion.

The worst thing was that the feeling of disgust came only second after the feeling of some twisted sort of ar-

'Didn't your mother tell you it's rude to stare?!' the embarrassment slightly heated up his cheeks and he started brushing them with his hand in a subtle but vain attempt to chase the blush away.

'I don't really have one.' he smiled apologetically.

'Good for you.'

'Nor a father.' Hanamiya lifted up his head at that comment, looking at him with curiosity for a while before shrugging his shoulders.

'Poor you.' he said, words overflowing with sarcasm.

'Do you dislike your parents?' if the question caught him off-guard he didn't show it.

'I hate them.' he said without hesitation.

'C'mon, i'm sure that even if you're angry with each othe-'

'They're trash. And stop meddling in my life!' the hard look Kiyoshi received was enough to sent shivers down his spine.

Instead of pressing the matter further, he wordlessly ate his dinner. Prodding Hanamiya any more would be like stirring up hornet's nest-a thing he'd rather avoid.

The silence stretched on, slowly increasing it's awkwardness level. Makoto, however, looked almost comfortable with it. Finally Teppei couldn't stand it any longer and had to try something.

'I'm sorry.' as good a place to start as any, he figured. He waited for some reaction from the other man but it didn't come.

'Why did you quit basketball?' he gritted his teeth, cursing his non-existent skill to smoothly change subject.

'No special reason...' partial success, but at least that got him talking.

'I mean,... you're good! The shot and...' their eyes met. Which is to say that Hanamiya found his eyes and held them hostage under the power of his glare.

'I got tired of it.' he said, annoyed. Kiyoshi slightly frowned but then beamed.

'I'm sure you'd make it to the nationals! Which school do you go to? It has basketball club, right?!'

'We never got better than to the 10 best with my old school.'

'Really? 10 best is great! What school was that?' Hanamiya scowled.

'Wouldn't you know that best, Iron heart?' he asked mockingly, putting emphasis on the last two words.

'Don't call me like that...' the taller male scratched his head nervously, embarrassed.

'You know me... like...' he struggled to form a clear sentence.

'We matched at Nationals during the second year.' came irritated reply.

'Oh, I-sorry, I don't really... how old are you?' Hanamiya rolled his eyes at that.

'Same as you, idiot.'

'I see...' joggling the numbers in his head he desperately tried to come up with something. He was sure he'd have remember if he have been on court with somebody like that.

'I can't really remember,...sorry...' he smiled as an apology.

'Pity, I fouled you nicely.' Teppei shortly chuckled, trying to avert his eyes as Hanamiya ate up another squid.

'Didn't like me?'

'I hated your stupid smiley face. Wanted to send you home crying.'

'Is that so?' he tried to sound casual even though the last comment made him sweat. Especially the deadpan tone in which it was said.

'I play for Seirin.' he went on with a nervous smile.

'It's a good team, we'll win the Winter Cup for sure this year!' he couldn't help but feel excited, flashing a huge smile.

'I'll be watching then.' after having said that, Makoto reached across the table, yanking Kiyoshi closer by his jacket.

'I can't wait to see all your hopes crushed.' he whispered into his ear hungrily.

Be it the tone or simply the unnatural feeling of somebody breathing against his ear, the sentence made Teppei shudder.

Hanamiya loosened his grip a little, allowing them to come face to face again.

'We will win.' Kiyoshi's announced, his voice was oddly steady and unwavering. Not smug but rather explanatory. As if it was a fact without any room for doubt.

Rather startled, the other man let go of him completely, leaning back in his chair. He sat motionless for a while until he couldn't contain his laughter any longer. It burst out of his lips, bending him at the waist with it's force. He tried muffling his mouth with his hands but couldn't quite stop it.

Finally, he recomposed himself, wiping the tears from his eyes.

'You're so pathetic!' he proclaimed, trying not to laugh.

Teppei didn't give any response to that, just chuckled. For somebody that just got so plainly insulted, he looked incredibly self-satisfied. However anybody would have felt the same way having accomplished a feat like he has.

Because even if he hadn't been aware of it, at that single evening, Hanamiya laughed more than the previous ten months together.

 

 

'Can I borrow your phone?'

'No fucking way.' Hanamiya retorted several metres ahead of Kiyoshi.

He couldn't figure out while the guy still followed him. He already got way more than he bargained for! Makoto answered his stupid questions, played the idiotic game with him and even let him buy a dinner.

But he was still tailing behind him like some oversized shadow with bad taste!

'Just for a moment! I know you want to get home as soon as possible but I wouldn't bother you if it wasn't urgent.!'

The man with the raven hair sighed resignedly. They already passed his house a while ago but he just walked on. After all, he'd be damned if the jerk found out where he lives.

He stopped, pulling out the phone from his pocket.

Teppei caught up with him soon, hastily grabbing the offered device. He tapped out a number, not even bothering to lift the phone to his ear.

The sound of ringtone filled the late evening silence for a while, before disappearing shortly.

Smiling, he produced his phone and saved the number. Meanwhile Hanamiya watched, dumbstruck, his expression quickly turning from disbelief to anger and back again.

'If i'd known I would one day be outsmarted by the likes of you, i'd have hanged myself on my umbilical cord.' he finally managed to say.

'What should I name you as?' the taller man asked, grinning victoriously.

There were thousands of insulting replies forming in Makoto's head at that moment and honestly, he couldn't decide which one would be the best.

'You should tell me already. Besides, I guess this makes today's score 1:1.'

If he was at his right mind at that time, he would have punched him in the face, broken that fucking phone or something of that sort. That was his way of solving problems. But instead, he found himself saying something incredibly stupid.

'Hanamiya Makoto.'

 


	4. Technical difficulties

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ...however just as she was opening her mouth Kiyoshi's phone beeped. He picked up immediately, smiling wildly when he saw who sent it. But as soon as he read it, his smile disappeared. He reread it few times but it still made no sense to him.  
>  Aida sat down next to him on the bench, looking over his shoulder, but he just stood up, walking away.  
> 'What is it?'  
> 'I've just remembered I have to... get something.' he muttered, closing the doors behind himself.

When it happened for the first time, Hanamiya thought that he'd only imagined it. The second time was in classroom, during one of the breaks and he almost jumped out from his chair. Ignoring the curious gazes that his sudden movement attracted, he sat down again, decided to ignore the strange sensation.

He was almost expecting it the third time. As he was ignoring their teacher's boring speech, he felt the vibration again.

He almost laughed out aloud at his idiocy at that time. Phone!

It's not as if he forgot he had it in his pocket or that he didn't know it was in a silent setting. It was simply the fact that he didn't get texts often. Which meant never in his case.

His frown deepened.

_Kiyoshi again, huh. I don't know how could I possibly ignore him more._

He actually bothered to check his phone at a lunch break only to find that he had four unread messages.

_**'From: That idiot** _

_**I was late for school this morning. Our maths teacher looked like she wanted to bite my head off. '** _

_I like her already._

_**'From: That idiot** _

_**The mornings sure are so cold now, don't you think?'** _

_**'Are you listening at all?!'** _

_**'Did you know that cat's heart beats twice as fast as a human one?'** _

Really, will he never tire of it?! In the last three days Hanamiya received 11 messages from him. But instead of giving up he got more persistent with every new day without a single response. He was like a puppy that had only been kicked around it's whole life but would still crawl back and hope his new master will someday love him. Pathetic.

And no, the comparison wasn't just because he looked like one when he was sad. Not at all. If Kiyoshi was a dog it'd be a stray dog. The one that's so dirty and haggard everybody just pities it from a respective distance.

Makoto smiled. He was just busy secretly humouring himself with the dog idea that he almost bumped into Imayoshi going the other way.

'Hanamiya-chan.' the man grinned, delighted by the unexpected meeting.

'Call me that again and i'll rip your tongue out.' came venomous reply.

'How scaary.'

'Don't you have children to creep out?!' Hanamiya closed his phone quickly, putting his hands into his pockets. Not that he had anything to hide.

'Only you.' the other man smiled teasingly, getting closer.

Makoto was just about to walk away when he got caught in a tight embrace of his upperclassman. He forced his way out quickly, kicking the other for good measure.

'The fuck, Imayoshi.' he spat, heading back to class, hands buried in his pockets.

Looking back though, he started having second thoughts. Imayoshi was grinning wildly, slowly walking from him.

He knew the expression. The man was up to something. Did he miss anything? Should he had noticed something? Nothing came to mind.

Hanamiya just hoped this wouldn't turn out into one of those stupid games when he was to play the fool.

 

 

'Hanamiya Makoto.' Riko repeated slowly. She leaned onto a wall, one hand on her chin, thinking.

'I've heard about him.' Kiyoshi gave a slight nod-at least it had looked like he nodded. It was hard to tell when he was pulling his jumper over his head.

'He used to be one of the uncrowned kings.' she continued.

'Really? No wonder he was good.' the coach gave him a pointed look.

'To think you'd forget someone so important like that. Emba-rra-ssing!' she drew the last word out, grinning as the man averted his eyes in shame.

'It's not as if I completely forgot. I think I remember a bit right now...' he suddenly frowned.

'He didn't play fair at all.' Riko sighed as she watched him pack his sweaty clothes into his bag.

'He wouldn't be called Bad boy if he did.'

'Guess he really doesn't play any more.'

'From what I know, he went to Senagawa.'

'That school that's impossible to get into?'

'Not that impossible.'

'Still, he must be pretty smart.' Teppei packed the empty bento box back to his bag, smiling to himself. Having noticed that, Aida's grin grew even wider.

'Kiyoshi~'

'What is it?' he looked up in confusion.

'Just proud of you, that's all.'

'Ah, I see. W-wait! It's not like that!'

'So you didn't move on after all?'

'What?!'

'The Hyuuga thing of course.'

'Wait, Riko...' he tried meekly, his cheeks beetroot red. He looked around his classroom nervously. Fortunately, everybody seemed to have better things to do during the break.

'You didn't?' she teased.

'Of course I did, but that was a while ago.' it didn't come out that convincing.

'Besides, you said you wouldn't talk about it!'

'It's okay if it's just between the two of us, no? C'mon, tell auntie Riko all your secrets!'

'Riko...' he pleaded. She was already using the same phrases as the last time they had similar discussion. It ended up with her finding out that he had a crash on Hyuuga since their first year. God knows what she'll manage to pry out of him this time!

However just as she was opening her mouth Kiyoshi's phone beeped. He picked up immediately, smiling wildly when he saw who sent it. But as soon as he read it, his smile disappeared. He reread it few times but it still made no sense to him.

Aida sat down next to him on the bench, looking over his shoulder, but he just stood up, walking away.

'What is it?'

'I've just remembered I have to... get something.' he muttered, closing the doors behind himself.

 

Students all around the hall tried to spare them as few looks as possible, nobody would want get involved in a fight. Especially if it was with Hanamiya, he was the worst.

In between the kicks and fists that were thrown at him, Imayoshi seemed to had realised the very same thing.

'My phone you asshole!' Makoto hissed. If he were to rate his mood at this moment it would have to be -10. Even when hurting somebody-his usual way of relieving stress- it didn't seem to get any better.

His insides were twisting in unease and he couldn't think as clear as he would normally. He felt a strange kind of fear. And he hated it. It made him feel so weak. All of that because of something so fucking useless as a phone.

No. Because of something so fucking useless as Kiyoshi.

'Just a joke Hanamiya.' the older man grinned, avoiding the blows.

'You fucking..' finally, he managed direct hit. Imayoshi was knocked back by the impact but managed to keep his footing.

'You sure like hurting me, don't you?' he said, his voice oddly clear. There was a blood dripping from his nose.

'You should know best that I'm going easy on you, _senpai_.' Hanamiya spat the last word out, his tone mocking. He hit Imayoshi again, partly because he was pissed, partly because it was Imayoshi. Not as if it made much of a difference. He'd known him far too long to think that he'd get anything from him only with violence.

'Say the magic word.'

'Fuck you.'

'Haven't you done that already?' Makoto gritted his teeth, holding back his anger.

'Phone.' he said instead.

'You don't have a sense of humour.' Shouichi sighed but finally gave up the stolen property.

Makoto tucked it safely away, feeling at least 10 pounds lighter. He walked away slowly, partly so that even the people that just arrived would know what he did and mostly to show Imayoshi that he wasn't in any hurry to find out what he did to his phone. As if he didn't care at all. That's how they played their games.

Though Shouichi must had already found out. Even pretty beaten up, he was still smiling. Smiling his knowing smile. He saw through him already. He always did.

'I hope you'll have fun with it!' came a shout from behind and it only strengthened the bad feeling Hanamiya had about this whole thing.

He will have to get rid off this affection or what it was quickly. It was inconvenient. Kiyoshi is just one goody-two-shoes after all. No different from all the others.

The few talks they had and the temporary company might had been somewhat fulfilling but when it was gone it only left him feeling even more empty. He didn't need something like that! But somehow, sometimes he wanted only that.

 

 

_'From: Hanamiya_

_Won't your grandma break her old legs if she keeps running like that, look how she's sweating!'_

'I don't get it.' Kiyoshi sighed, his face white. At first he thought it was just a stupid joke, everybody has a grandma. But he quickly realised that around this time his grandma usually went shopping. Suddenly, he saw her oddly clearly, running to the station to catch the train, bags in both her hands.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts but it was useless. If Hanamiya wanted to scare him, he did an excellent job of it.

He sat on a bench, fingers itching to reply with some words he'd never used before when his phone suddenly announced another message and he opened it hesitantly.

_'From: Hanamiya_

_Wrong number.'_

'The hell wrong number!' he growled.

_**'To: Hanamiya** _

_**What?!!'** _

Reply came soon enough.

_'From: Hanamiya_

_Guy grabbed my phone when I wasn't looking and thought it was fucking funny. What's the big deal?'_

_**'To: Hanamiya** _

_**The big deal?! It freaked me out!!'** _

_'From: Hanamiya_

_Some random shit? Be glad it wasn't worse.'_

He could imagine Hanamiya grinning quite easily. His worries were slowly evaporating as he wrote it all of as a freakish coincidence. But still, how the hell do you respond to that?!

_**'There can hardly be something worse. I thought you were serious.'** _

_'Disappointed?'_

_**'Relieved'** _

No reply came followed after that and Kiyoshi assumed that was supposed to end their discussion. No way he'd allow that.

_**'I'm surprised somebody would dare to pull pranks on you.'** _

There was a moment of nervous silence when he almost thought he'd get ignored again, but there it was:

_'Only one. And he got what he deserved.'_

_**'Which is what?'** _

_'Broken nose. I'd get arrested if I cut off his arm. Though it's not such a bad idea.'_

_**'Don't be so morbid.'** _

_'Don't be so fucking boring.'_

_**'Hey, the winter cup preliminaries start next week. If you have time you could come and watch us play.'** _

_'Like I give a shit about your team.'_

_**'Well, you seem to give a shit about me.'** _

Just as he sent it, Kiyoshi cursed himself for being such an idiot. Not as if he'd get at answer to that!

_'I hate you.'_

That must had been the first time somebody told him that. It might be inappropriate but he felt happy. Happy because it might be just half true.

_**'Then i'll have to try harder to make you like me.'** _

Having sent that, Teppei put the mobile in his pocket and went back, satisfied. He knew that there won't be any answer this time but he couldn't help the wide smile that appeared on his face.

He was over Hyuuga, that was for sure. Now he was just heading into something much much worse, grinning like an idiot. Because it will either be the worst thing yet or the best.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so you know, i couldn't think of anything imayoshi could send Kiyoshi. First i thought it'd be soemthing dirty, then i changed into something creepy... 'cause nobody's better in that than Imayoshi.  
> Still don't know if i chose right. And how does he know? He lives opposite the station. XD  
> Anyway, thanks for reading! ;)


	5. Trouble is starting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just three days to the Winter cup and their team is in a great condition.  
> Really, nothing could go wrong in the life of Kiyoshi Teppei.  
> Well, maybe something absurd like getting stuck in a snowstorm in autumn,  
> or being forced to introduce Hanamiya to his friends.  
> Or both...

'So, that's all for today, boys!' Riko announced cheerfully, as if she wasn't the one who doubled their training regime today.

The ball was tossed aside as the whole Seirin, sweating and huffing, staggered to the changing room.

Compliments and remarks towards were exchanged between them while undressing and occasional laughs could be heard.

'Just a three days to the opening ceremony, ha?' Koganei said out aloud, suddenly attracting attention to himself. It was the thing that everybody in the team knew all too well. All of them listened to the ticking of imaginary clocks with a mixture of excitement and fear.

'On top of that, it's on Threeday!' Izuki cracked a joke, looking around hopefully. Nobody got that one.

'What's so free about it?' Furihata asked, bemused.

'Not free but three! It's the Friday in three days, Threeday. See?' the point guard crossed his arms over his chest, smiling smugly. Kiyoshi chuckled slightly at the whole scene unfolding in front of him. He liked the times when they were all together the most.

'Don't we have an amazing team, Hyuuga?' he commented, smiling fondly.

'I really want us to be the first in Japan.'

'Just leave it to me, senpai!' Kagami shouted in response, radiating determination.

'I'll beat the generation of miracles! I'll wipe the floor with Ahomine for sure this ti-auch!! Kuroko, why the hell did you do that?!' he complained, holding his pinched ear.

'When did you even get here?!'

'Saying something like that is disrespectful to our other opponents. I'm sure that there are other good teams trying their best!' the blue haired boy reprimanded his team-mate, showing an unusual amount of emotion.

'And Kagami-kun, I've been sitting here the whole time.' he added after some time to everybody's surprise. Kagami only growled. Looking back at Kiyoshi, Tetsuya smiled slightly.

'However, I too, want us to be the best in Japan.'

 

 

'See you tomorrow!' Hyuuga waved, walking away from Kiyoshi's house. Teppei waved back, grinning widely at his friend. As the familiar figure disappeared in the distance, he opened the gate with a sigh.

It was unlocked as usual. After all, if somebody really wanted to enter, it'd be easier to just step over the fence. That's how short it was.

He reached the front doors through the garden, pausing for some time before opening them.

'I'm home!'

A muffled 'welcome home' from his grandfather came as a response. His grandmother looked out of the kitchen, her smiling face showing in the doorway, wrinkles framing the corners of her mouth and eyes.

'Welcome home, Teppei.' she said gently.

'Come on, remove your shoes. You'll help me cut the vegetables for dinner.' with that she went back into the room.

With a little private smile of his own, Kiyoshi changed into slippers and followed his grandma.

 

 

_To: That idiot_

_I'll be busy on Wednesday._

Hanamiya sighed, rolling onto his back on his bed. He lost count of how many times had Kiyoshi attempted to meet up with him.

_**From: That idiot** _

_**You already got some plans?** _

_Yeah, like not going anywhere with you._

_**I heard you're going to Senagawa.** _

Here he goes again, changing topic when he doesn't like the way the conversation is going. He's really sloppy at that, isn't he? Hanamiya chuckled. Still, the guy had been doing his research. How troublesome.

_You wanna know my fucking address next?!_

_**I'm just interested in you, is that so bad?** _

That only earned raised eyebrows from him, though he kept smiling.

_How corny._

_**I really mean it.** _

_I don't care, it's annoying._

No reply came for some while and it made Makoto uneasy. The idiot never ignored him. Then his phone beeped suddenly.

_**Don't freak out but are you going out with anybody at the moment?** _

He burst out laughing. Teppei really was a pathetic idiot, holding pointless hopes. Still, in some strange way, the question made him unnaturally happy.

So did the idea of Kiyoshi nervously waiting for an answer to a risky text like that. Instead of replying, he made himself a tea and read some books he borrowed. The longer he made him wait, the better.

After half an hour or so, another message came in and Makoto thought he could very well imagine what the person on the other end is thinking.

The easiest way to describe it is a simple 'i-shouldn't-have-done-that' repeated over and over again.

_**I'm sorry if you hate people like that.** _

Hanamiya grinned, realising he had backed Kiyoshi into a corner. If he wrote that he was disgusting he'd never have to see him again nor would he get any of those texts.

Oddly enough, the thought wasn't that inviting any more.

He could write that he had somebody. Or he could simply write the truth-no, he wasn't sleeping with anybody at the moment.

Deciding between the two options was harder than it might had seemed at the first glance. While he wanted to tease Kiyoshi a bit more, it could result in the man partially loosing interest.

He never had anybody courting him. He'd slept with a few guys before but those were mostly one night stands.

And to tell you the truth, to have somebody attached to him even so slightly, felt intoxicating. He could toy with them in so many new ways.

_Wednesday is good after all._

 

 

The weather on Wednesday was particularly horrible. The temperature dropped and it even started snowing.

Strong wind blew snowflakes in Kiyoshi's face as he walked around to keep himself warm. He'd been pacing in this blizzard for some time now, so that both his nose and ears were bright red.

Despite that, he kept waiting. Even though the person was already half an hour late.

He sighed, reading through his messages to check the set time again. He overlooked nothing, 17:00. Maybe it was just a fluke and he fell for it. Decided to leave, he turned around, coming to face with the very the very person he was waiting for.

Not bothering to hide his joy, he run over to him quickly, smiling as if he hadn't had the slightest doubt.

'Hi, Hanamiya!' he added quickly, closely watching for any kind of a expression that'd betray what the other really thought.

'It's freezing today!'

'Especially when waiting for so long.' Makoto responded with a knowing grin.

'Yeah... Where are we going anyway?'

'Shouldn't you be the one to decide when we're gonna be spending your money?' came an annoyed growl.

'I'm okay with everything as long as we're inside.' he specified afterwards. Teppei meant to scratch his head, but stopped mid motion because the action actually required to take his hands out of his pockets into the freezing air. He shrugged his shoulders instead.

'I'm starving, how about we go get some food?'

'That's unexpected.' Hanamiya looked up at him, as if in daze.

'What is?'

'Logical thinking.' he broke the act, grinning wildly. Though slightly reluctant at first, Kiyoshi smiled back.

'Maji burger should be the closest.' he suggested carefully.

'Whatever.' taking that as an agreement, Teppei headed in the direction he judged to be about right.

At the beginning, he looked back every so often to reassure himself that Hanamiya follows him. Because really, the fact that he'd now go with him willingly seemed too unreal to believe. Every time he checked he'd slow down a little so they were soon side by side.

A fact that Makoto didn't seem so happy about, judging from his scowl.

But then, when didn't he scowl? Really, at this point it seemed that his face had only that one expression programmed so Kiyoshi didn't allow himself to get discouraged by it.

 

 

When they finally entered Maji Burger about an hour later, there was hardly any difference between them and two giant snowballs.

One of the waitresses might had even thought that a snowman walked in, gaping at them aghast.

After many worried looks and some are-you-okay's, they managed to shake all the snow and bystanders off and were promised some hot coffee to warm up.

'The weather's terrible!' Kiyoshi apologised to no-one particular, embarrassed. Hanamiya just sighed, dragging him of to the nearest free table.

They just sat there slouched and exhausted for the next few minutes, simply staring at each other.

'Wow...' Teppei started.

'...I sure wouldn't expect a blizzard like that!' Makoto just lifted his head, giving him a glare.

'Die.'

'I'll go buy you something, what do you want?'

'I'll eat anything right now.' he muttered while nodding to a girl that laid two steaming cups on their table.

Kiyoshi got up slowly and staggered to the end of the queue, realising that both his jacket and trousers were thoroughly wet now that the snow melted.

Still, at least he was warm, now if only he coul-

'Kiyoshi-senpai!' he realised he was looking into a familiar face.

'Kagami-kun?' the redhead looked equally puzzled as he stopped to carefully rearrange the crazy number of hamburgers on his tray so they wouldn't fall down.

'You got here in this weather too?'

'No, it wasn't so bad at that time, it worsened pretty quick.'

'Will you be alright after eating all that?' Kiyoshi worried, eyeing the pile.

'That's fine, those are only seconds.'

'Kagami-kun.' Taiga jumped from the surprise and the Hamburgertopia dangerously wobbled, almost falling apart.

'Not again!!' he shouted, getting few alarmed looks from the people waiting in the line.

'You forgot my milkshake, Kagami-kun.' the blue haired boy complained.

'Ah, sorry Kuroko, i'll get it later.'

'I see, it's you two together.' Kiyoshi observed, smiling.

'Are you alone here, wanna sit at our table?' Kagami suggested quickly.

'I think he came with that person over there.' Tetsuya responded, pointing somewhere to Kiyoshi's table.

Hanamiya said there, legs on the table. He noticed the stares and knowing too well what they might be talking about, he stuck his tongue out at them.

Teppei felt sweat running down his spine.

'Well, you see...'

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Seirin team finally made an appearance, yay!  
> We still haven't even started, so please just bear with my awful summaries a little longerXD  
> And thanks to all of you for reading this, commenting and giving me kudos! It's much appreciated!! :D


	6. A proper goodbye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What a day!  
> Kagami found out that his senpai is actually quite gay.  
> Kuroko knew everything.  
> Hanamiya has two more people to hate.  
> And Kiyoshi just miiight be hopelessly in love...

'Well, you see...' Kiyoshi mumbled, nervous from the curious gazes he was getting.

Fortunately, somebody bumped into Kagami while carrying the food back to their table, beginning an argument on the topic: 'It was your fault!!'. Kuroko ended it all in a rather civilised way, convincing his shadow to go back to their table because they were getting in the way.

Teppei sighed with relief, happy to had avoided the tricky question. Finally reaching the till, he ordered the first thing that came to his mind and some burger and French fries for Hanamiya. He went with that because he wasn't able to imagine what could somebody who eats octopus like.

He walked back, tray now full, only to face another problem.

It seemed his kouhais now moved to his table, waving at him enthusiastically. Makoto, on the other hand, didn't look happy at all. Just as Kiyoshi was sitting down he heard him ask:

'Could you remove your douchebag friends?'

Kagami stopped mid chewing his fifth burger, looking as though he just had an excellent idea involving bashing certain somebody's face in. Hanamiya just smiled at him sweetly.

With a nervous smile, Teppei started the introductions.

'This is Kagami and Kuroko, first years from my basketball team.' he recited, pointing accordingly.

'And this is Hanamiya.' he clapped the raven hair's shoulder.

Awkward silence stretched between them, both parties glaring at each other until Kuroko nodded to himself.

'Nice to meet you, Hanamiya-kun.' he said, tone flat. The one in question pointedly ignored him, reaching for a bag of fries from Kiyoshi's tray instead.

'I never knew Kiyoshi-senpai had a friend like you.' Teppei gulped but before he could say something, Makoto interrupted him.

'Friend with a jerk like him, are you stupid?!' he responded in between chewing.

'We met in a library on the day I was meeting up with Hyuuga... We're just acquaintances.' the taller male added quickly, lest they get another idea.

'That's to say, we haven't fucked each other yet.' Hanamiya said casually, picking up another fry, salt already coating his fingers.

For the next few minutes, the only sound that could be heard was Kiyoshi gritting his teeth. If it was within his power, he would had given up his ghost at instance.

'I see.' Kuroko broke the silence again.

'You see?' Kiyoshi's panic was on it's way from internal to external.

'Yes, I assumed you had interest in the same sex but never quite found suitable moment to ask.'

'Um... that's-...'

'We will still support you no matter what partner you choose. Isn't that right, Kagami-kun?!' Kagami's head snapped around, searching for the source of the voice, and gave Tetsuya a look fitting for a situation when he'd just seen him grow two heads. And very ugly heads at that.

'I-i... I don't... I mean, I didn't know... that...t-thing?' he turned his eyes to his half-eaten burger, scowling as if it was the source of all his problems. His cheeks turned slightly red.

'God, I feel sick.' Hanamiya joined in the conversation, annoyed by their embarrassing social interactions. He gave Kiyoshi an accusing glare, but the man didn't even notice.

Judging from his wide smile, he was over the moon now that the matter was solved. It hadn't been as disastrous as he thought it would.

'Ah, Kagami-kun,..' Kuroko spoke up suddenly.

'Now that we're talking about it, I think I have a relevant question to ask you.'

'Don't you dare...'

 

 

'Worse yet.'

'What do you mean?' Kiyoshi asked when they were leaving Maji burger, their wet clothes cold against their skin.

'This had been the worse meeting so far.'

'Well, i'd say the first was worse. It was pretty horrible, you were really scary.' even if he tried not to, Makoto chuckled at the memory.

How he had made the idiot read 120 days of Sodom and he turned green.

'I seriously considered breaking your legs back then.'

'It's good you don't any more.'

'Don't be so relieved. I still hate most things about you.'

'For example?'

'Your voice, smile, attitude, perseverance and your freaky friends.'

'I don't think you have a reason to hate them, though.' Kiyoshi said, sounding rather worried.

'I think I'm the one who should fucking know if I do or don't.' Hanamiya snapped, irritated.

The others were simply in the way. The whole dinner was them and Teppei joking with each other. He had half the mind to leave. They just made his skin crawl.

After that, the two of them walked side by side wordlessly in an awkward silence, partially relieved that the snow had stopped falling while they were still inside. However everything was now hidden with a thick white cover, glistening in the dark.

Kiyoshi couldn't resist and sank his hand into it, marvelling at the cold smoothness.

'The winter's about to start so-' he stopped when a snowball suddenly landed on his face. Surprised, he looked back at Hanamiya who was grinning like a Cheshire cat.

'Got a death wish?' he asked when he saw the taller man making his own ammunition.

'A payback.' Teppei smiled, throwing the snow. It connected with the other's shoulder, bursting apart.

It got rather chaotic afterwards. They each tried to land as many hits possible while chasing the other or running away.

Hanamiya even hit a passer-by businessman by accident and wouldn't stop laughing until another ball hit his face. A thing that Kiyoshi immediately apologised for, but didn't seem to anyhow diminish the fury directed towards him.

While he was trying to evade all the shots with twists and turns, a sharp pain stabbed through his left knee. His leg buckled and he was sent flying to meet the pavement with a loud thud.

He tried to catch his breath, sprawled on the ground. Soon, a familiar figure appeared, towering on the sky above him, looking more amused than worried. There was a snowball in it's hand.

'No, no, noo-' direct hit. Frowning, Teppei brushed the snow of his face and gritted his teeth as another pang of pain went through his limb.

'Now we're even. But can't you even walk without me around?' Hanamiya grinned, outstretching his hand. It was icy to the touch as it helped Kiyoshi get up.

'Thanks.' he muttered, throwing one arm over Makoto's shoulder to keep himself in balance. With this support he half-staggered, half-jumped to the nearest bench, carefully lowering himself down onto it.

He rubbed his left knee slowly, feeling the spasms weaken. There was a faint thud as the other man sat next to him.

'I doubt you will last this season.' he said outright, voice cold.

'I have to. This might be the last one for me.' came crestfallen reply. Raven hair nodded, lips drawn into a thin line.

'It's good now, we can go.' Teppei announced, getting up.

'You can sit all you want, I've had enough of you for today.' Hanamiya said simply, stepping close to him.

'I see, take care then.'

'Just like that, idiot?!' the distance between them shortened even more.

Kiyoshi was at a loss what to do. He seemed to had angered the other but he failed to see what had he done wrong.

'I don-' before he had any chance to react he'd been pulled down into a kiss. In the moment of confusion he'd only noticed pair of arms gripping his jacket and a warm mouth covering his own. As soon as he registered it, the feeling was gone and Makoto let go of him.

Teppei watched him in a wordless amazement, not quite realising what had happened just then. He stared into the bewitching grey eyes, blood rushing to his cheeks,-and the other more embarrassing parts.

He desperately tried to think of anything sensible to say but the kiss thief had already started walking away from him without a second glance.

Kiyoshi stood there petrified for a few more seconds before he begun making his way home. The usual procedure suddenly didn't seem like such a good idea.

After all, there was no Hanamiya back there.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just found out that we got to chapter six!! Yay!   
> Though it'd be way better if i actually had an idea how many more to go :P  
> Anyway, we got a first kiss and poor Teppei is head over heels with Hanamiya!!  
> Looks like we'll just have to wait and see if Hanamiya feels the same. :D  
> That's all from me, bye! And thnx!


	7. Leek and other problems

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Seirin just won against Tou,  
> Kiyoshi is getting lonely,  
> Riko might just kill everyone with her cooking someday,  
> and Hyuuga cannot unsee what he's seen.

'What are you writing?' Hyuuga asked, too exhausted to move a single inch closer even though his curiosity would normally have him looking over the man's shoulder in a second.

The fervent tapping was slowly driving him crazy.

Kiyoshi gave him a nervous smile, tugging his phone even closer as to protect it from unwanted gazes.

'Just a text.'

'To whom?' the two-word question had an unforeseen impact on the other. He blushed, mouth curved into an affectionate smile with a side dish of embarrassment sprinkled with sparkles.

'A person.' the captain just rolled his eyes at that.

'I didn't know you had a girlfriend.' it looked like he guessed right, judging from the reaction he got.

'It's not really like that...' Teppei waved his hands in defence. The last thing he wanted was to have his former crush asking about Hanamiya.

Even he didn't know what they would classify as. Had they already started dating after the kissing thing or did he still have to go through the confession part? Truthfully, he'd rather not. He could quite well picture Hanamiya laughing to his face afterwards. Maybe it simply didn't count because he didn't return the kiss...?

He now regretted that he had been absent when God was giving out dating manuals.

He looked back at Junpei, suddenly too well aware of the fact that the other observed him closely for the whole time he'd spaced out. There was a grin plastered on his face.

'So you do have one.' he asked smugly.

'I don't know!' Kiyoshi exclaimed, perhaps way too loud because the whole team was looking at him right now.

'Still have so much energy left, you two?!' Riko glared at them from her front seat. Both of them shook their heads vehemently, shivering at the thought of the coach doubling their training.

'Good.' she nodded with a self-satisfied smirk and sat down again.

The bus went silent. All the their team-mates were resting after the hard won match against Tou, looking more like a school of jellyfish washed ashore than anything else.

It wasn't as if Teppei wasn't tired himself-his knees were on fire-but he didn't have much spare time with the Winter cup taking place. Other days when they weren't playing were reserved for trainings and trying to catch up with school. The teachers were quite tolerant but that didn't mean they'd overlook everything.

He just wanted to meet up with Hanamiya again as soon as possible. Last time he'd seen him was week before but he had to leave quickly because Aida called him. Makoto had to be really pissed about that because he outright told him to 'drop dead'.

He also said he would break Kiyoshi's arm if it happened again in the future. Up until then, he'd never imagined that he could find a person scarier than Riko.

'Heey...' Izuki leaned closer, his head showing in the gap between the seats.

'What's all the fuss about?' he whispered, not wanting to be the one rebuked this time.

'Kiyoshi's writing his girlfriend.' Hyuuga answered quickly before Teppei could as much as open his mouth.

'I didn't know he had a girlfriend.'

'He won't admit it though.'

'Hey, I'm still here, you know?!' Kiyoshi's sigh went ignored so he turned his attention back to his phone conversation.

_From: Hanamiya_

_Your shitty team hasn't managed to lose yet?!_

_**It was a great match!** _

_Means that you'll be free for a few days. Tuesday?_

_**That sounds great.** _

'Look!'

'I know, he's doing it again.'

The two were whispering to each other for quite a while now, tittering. Really, what could be so f-wait?! Realisation hit him like a piano from fifth floor.

He turned around to look at them, which only caused more giggling.

'Really, how old are you?!' he shook his head, trying to look serious while his face reddened even further.

Izuki couldn't help himself any more and burst out laughing.

Aida was going to kill them for sure.

  
  


  
  


'Ha-Hanamiya...?' Makoto could hear the person on the other end gasping for air.

'Well done, now that you've made sure you can make a phone call I'm fucking hanging up!' he retorted, irritated. Teppei had never called him before and Hanamiya failed to see the reason to change that.

'No-wait! I just wanted to...' the sentence was interrupted by sharp intakes of breath.

'Thanks for the effort but even if you recited fucking poetry i would never get off to your voice.'

'Hana-'

'Don't even try begging, I'm on a train.'

'Are you doing this on a purpose?' Kiyoshi gave a defeated sigh that only made Makoto grin more. Not as if the other could had seen it but the others did though.

The train was quite empty today except himself, three seriously looking businessmen and one elementary school girl. And everybody was trying their hardest to look as if they hadn't heard anything while they assumed the worst.

Even though he loved making other people uncomfortable, teasing Teppei was simply the best.

'Just when I was about to give in...' Hanamiya's grin grew wider. He pictured the taller man scratching his head sheepishly, face red.

'I just ran to catch the last bus so I'm out of breath.'

'How admirable.' came an ironical reply.

'I almost died.'

'Shame you didn't. Why the hell are you calling me?!'

'That's... I actually ask you if we could... postpone the thing from tomorrow...'

'Are you kidding?!'

'I know I'm just... I got my regime doubled for the practise tomorrow and I don't know when we'll end, so....'

'Whatever.' Makoto cut him off quickly.

'Then we're doing it today.'

_God, I caught the Kiyoshi bug. If this goes on i'll lose half my brain cells and start saying those pathetic lines. I gotta rinse my mouth after I kiss him next time._

'Uh-really? Isn't it too sudden?'

'Don't fucking think you can talk your way out of this one!'

'I'm not! Hanamiya I swear! Anything, I-okay... sure, today!'

'Are you back in the city yet?'

'I'm just on a bus to the center, why?'

'Don't make me wait there for too long.'

'I won't! And Hanamiya...'

'What, still something else?!'

'I missed you too.'

'I'm hanging up, idiot.'

 

  
  


'I never expected that you would agree to go shopping with me.' Riko smiled, looking back at Hyuuga. At least she guessed that he was the person in that walking pile of her shopping bags.

'Do you really need all this?!' he complained, trying to catch up with her.

'You even have one entire bag full of leek! I hope you're not-'

'I am!' Junpei gulped, drops of sweat covering his forehead.

'As a reward for the match, I'm going to cook for all of you!' here it was. They were all going to die...

'No! I mean-don't overwork yourself! It's not fair forcing you to do something like that! Food for 11 people!'

'I'm going to be okay. I've been practising too. You'll praise me for sure this time!' she smiled so brightly that Hyuuga smiled back, all arguments and potential health hazards forgotten.

'Sure thing. We'll be counting o-'

'Counting on what?' Aida turned her head back sharply, curious what shocked the shooting guard so much that he had to stop mid sentence.

He was looking at the park across the street, dumbstruck. Aside from the pedestrians walking by, there were two figures sitting on the bench, locked in a passionate kiss.

'It's rude to stare you know?!' she pouted, not sure if she should feel offended. Junpei didn't seem to notice her dilemma, opening his mouth and closing it again like a fish hauled out of water. Finally, he seemed to had found his words again.

'Tell me, isn't that Kiyoshi... with some other guy...?'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops! That's what happens when all your friends live in the same city, i guess. It might be just as deadly as Riko cooking for you.  
> I'm doing time skips again and have no faith whatsoever that i didn't make any retarded error in my calculations. Well, it's an AU but still...  
> Also, the fic will probably be ending with the Wintercup final, so mentally prepare for that! :D  
> Once again thanks for all the comments!! ＾o＾


	8. The final irony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riko is needs more cuteness in her life,   
> Junpei missed the most important thing,  
> Hanamiya hates cupcakes,  
> Kiyoshi is about to find out how true embarrassment feels like,  
> and the whole Seirin is in for a big surprise.

'Hey, Kiyoshi, mind if I talk to you for a while?' not waiting for an answer, Riko simply dragged him from the hallway to some empty corridor, blocking his escape path.

'Sure. What is it?' he smiled, hiding his phone in his pocket.

'You know who was at the park yesterday?!' he frowned, he had never been good at riddles.

'No, who?'

'Me and Hyuuga.' she said, crossing her arms over her just like she was just getting ready to scold him for something.

'He finally asked you out?'

'No-not that!' Riko blushed furiously.

'I mean... not yet. He can't really get any hint.' she pouted, her mind floating in some far away place for a while.

'I'm sure he's bound to notice sooner or later.' Teppei reassured her, patting her shoulder.

'That's not the point!' she hissed.

'You! We saw you!'

'Me? Why? What was I-' as the realisation dawned on him, it seemed that all the blood from his body poured into his cheeks, stealing the oxygen his brain needed to function and rendering him unable to speak for a while.

'While you where smooching your... _boyfriend_!' she whispered the last word, looking around nervously.

'I-I...that's... you mean Hyuuga saw me and Hanamiya while we were... doing stuff?' his blush could have made it into Guinness book of records though it made his head look like a giant tomato.

'Precisely.'

'Oh, god!'

'Listen, if he asks you, you were out playing ball with Kagami, okay?!'

'What?!'

'I kinda... lied, okay? I tried convincing him it couldn't have been you. It was hard to tell from the distance.' she looked away, embarrassed. Quite pointlessly because Kiyoshi hadn't already been listening at that point, his mind too preoccupied with translating 'imscrewedscrewedimscrewedscrewedscrewed' code into human language.

A group of students headed their way, probably seeking to get further into the building. Riko sighed, leaning onto wall. The two of them waited until the strangers passed them, exchanging nervous glances.

'Couldn't you at least hold it in until you get to some private place?' she asked when they left, resigned.

'I didn't really... he started it!' he stared at wall while he was saying that, just to be safe.

'What are you, pair of kids?!'

It's not as if he could just take Hanamiya to his place-the only one worse thing than Hyuuga finding out was his grandparents finding out. And Hanamiya's place... well, he told him that he lived alone some while ago but maybe that was why Teppei wrote the place off as a danger zone.

The smile that Makoto flashed at him after saying that didn't help either. It was the look on the face of a cat staring up a canary in an open bird cage. That 'I'll make sure to play with you before I sink my teeth in.' grin. If canary got turned on by that too, Kiyoshi had no idea.

'Still, what a disappointment.' Riko sighed, interrupting Teppei's line of thought. He looked back at her, curious.

'What are you talking about?'

'Your partner in crime of course.' she turned to leave, checking her watch. Seeing that he was about to argue with her on that point she smiled at him, waving her hand dismissively.

'You know, he's not cute at all.'

 

 

'Basketball ticket.'

'A ticket?'

'You know, the tiny piece of paper that gives you the right to sit and watch? Ticket.' Hanamiya explained in monotone, glaring at the other.

'You mean ticket for the Seirin-Nakamiya match, right?' Imayoshi grinned, leaning back in his chair. It sure had been unusual for his kouhai to find a time to play chess with him during lunch break and it almost got his hopes up but then it was only for the other guy again. Talk about being the third wheel. Still, a weakness like that is worth exploiting.

'What else?!'

'I thought you were happy enough having him follow you around like a lost puppy.'

_It's the Kiyoshi bug. It's getting worse._

'It's enough that I got you fucking stalking me.'

'Can't help it when you're showing off like that. Your mama wouldn't be happy, you know.'

'Screw my darling mother.' Hanamiya growled, moving his bishop to take black pawn.

Even if she knew she wouldn't probably care. She'd be too busy pretending he didn't exist and spreading her legs for any rich bastard who looks her way. Still, it takes skill for a single mother to get enough money to pay rent in one extra flat just so she doesn't have to see her son. _I admit she's good. At being whore._

Imayoshi retreated, protecting his king. However both of them knew that it was just for show, he was always one step ahead.

'Say, what's so worthwhile about him?'

'The fact that I don't know is quite worthwhile in itself, wouldn't you say?'

'Hmm..'

'Will you get them or not?'

'Win the game and I might consider it.' black rook takes bishop. One step further from victory.

He didn't even think of sharing his intentions with Kiyoshi. The idiot would get overexcited and trip on his own legs during the match or something equally stupid. Besides, the whole notion of coming to watch the other play seemed completely ridiculous and awkward to him.

After all, it was on the same level as holding hands, drinking from the same glass with two straws and calling each other darling, honey or other rainbow crap words. Nauseating and simply idiotic. Every time he saw a person do any of those things he always felt like choking them to death. Really, they acted as though the world had turned into one giant pink cupcake and Makoto hated sweet things. They made him sick.

No, he wasn't going there to see Kiyoshi do his best in an activity reserved for brainless people. It was just a simple strategy how to drag him into some secluded place that relied on the fact that he's gonna be on his last legs after the match and therefore more compliant. Nice and simple.

_Not that catching idiot is an exceptionally difficult or mentally challenging discipline. Still, I wouldn't normally bother with things like that. Especially not for people like him._

He paused for a while, staring at his chess pieces intently. He still had yet to lose, quite unusual.

_Since when can't I survive a damn week without seeing somebody?! Even Imayoshi's making fun of me now. Should I try looking for some professional help? Or maybe some support group for those suffering from Teppei craving syndrome?_

'Stalemate then?' Imayoshi asked, looking at the board. Quite a good result when Makoto didn't even bother using as much as a half of his brain.

'What's the price of your faked loss?' Shouichi didn't even bother hiding it, grinning from ear to ear.

'You'll buy two tickets.'

  
  


  
  


Another game won.

Kuroko and Kagami maybe were their miraculous first year duo that had saved them more times than Kiyoshi dares to count, but earning a victory without them, even close one, felt pretty great. It was like their first year all over again. Just the five of them. Even when his cheek still stung where Riko slapped him.

'Go easy on your legs.' looking up from the bench, Teppei was shocked to see that Hyuuga turned from the lockers to face him, frown stretching across his face.

'Don't worry, it's nothing.' he smiled in response, patting his bandaged knee. He'd been extra careful not to put any unnecessary strain on it even though it made him weaker and slower in the game.

Junpei nodded, just the answer he expected. He took a deep breath, deciding to cut the chase and ask already.

'You know, yesterday...'

'Hanamiya.' really, lying at this point wouldn't help anything. Or maybe it was just one of his many excuses to cover up the fact he's too afraid to lie to people so directly.

'What's that?'

'A name of... my boyfriend...' seeing how Hyuuga's frown only deepened he quickly added:

'...at least that's what Riko called him...' as if apologising.

'She knew all the time?!' short nod.

'You can't really keep secrets from her, she won't stop nagging you until you tell her.' Kiyoshi just nodded again, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt.

'Are you angry?'

'Yeah, you idiot! I didn't have a clue for the whole two years! You could have at least thrown a few hints!'

'Sorry... But you're okay with me being... you know what..?' after hearing that Junpei just flashed him a wide grin.

'Unless you fall desperately in love with me or something.'

Teppei fought back the laughter that threatened to erupt from his chest. The final irony. He wondered how shocked would Hyuuga be if he told him that he'd already tried that for the last two years and it was hell.

He smiled back instead and it was only fifty percent forced this time. One truth was out and whatever worries he had had about this talk had dissolved so suddenly. He felt so light-headed it was almost unreal. Really, what was he so afraid of the whole time? That he'd get stoned for that? Sure, it was going to make the things between them more embarrassing but that was okay.

When he turned around however, he found out that the true embarrassment was something in a completely different league.

Like a whole basketball team staring at you, probably attempting to catch flies into their wide open mouths.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know what you're all worrying about. Is Teppei craving syndrome lethal?   
> Don't worry, nobody's going to die here. XD  
> Still, it looks like this will drag into another year... yay! Sorry, i write horribly slow T-T   
> But thanks if you're still reading this even with the cliffhangers, you people got some real perseverance! :D  
> Mmm... what else? Twenty three days to x-mas!!   
> Okay, i'm out!


	9. Waiting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hyuuga has a good memory,  
> Kiyoshi can live few minutes without smiling,  
> Seirin is just a bunch of curious kids  
> and Hanamiya is the perfect huggable size.

Hanamiya waited in the hall, leaning on one of the columns, throwing deadly glares at anyone who dared to even look in his direction. The idiot should had already passed through here on his way from changing rooms but he still failed to show up.

Imayoshi had left as soon as the match ended, saying his goodbyes. Makoto couldn't help feeling relieved by that, happy to finally escape the man's constant observation. Though now he'd rather have him here, teasing about his sudden attachment, then having to cope with this boredom.

 

Yes, it was just ten minutes but it was driving him crazy. He was used to situations when other people waited for him just so he could laugh at how needy they were. Now, he was the one doing the waiting. He felt so pathetic.

Two minutes. Two more minutes and he'd be out of here and nobody would ever know about this mistake. He didn't need to see Kiyoshi that much. He could wait few more days if it is to preserve his dignity. He'd already seen him today, watched his match.

Still, the thought did nothing to help. Teppei running around destroying his knees just so he could get touchy with his other team-mates after the victory.

Why hadn't he given up already?! He had to know where this whole thing leads to.

And how was Hanamiya rewarded for breaking character for once? The blockhead didn't even notice him drilling hole into his nape the whole time. At first, Makoto was only happy with that, but as the minutes went by he found out he must had most irrationally hoped to be noticed.

He even played the moment of his discovery in his mind: Kiyoshi would look shocked, unable to believe his eyes, but his lips would soon bend into a big grin. He'd start waving at him with the enthusiasm of a child, his eyes jerked wide open, almost sparkling.

But that didn't happen.

Makoto realised that he craved that sensation. That quirky feeling when you find somebody who's genuinely happy just to see you. It was a thing he'd probably never had before but which he found himself getting addicted to.

But really, what was taking Kiyoshi so long? It's been 19 minutes now but he found that he was unable to leave without seeing the face of his boyfriend.

_God, I fucking hate that word. Makes my stomach heave. Mmm... what's with that?!_

Makoto swapped his head around, quickly, just so he caught the guy averting his eyes. He'd been staring at him for quite a long time, not that inconspicuously either. Looking around, Hanamiya found out a whole bunch of people, pretending they didn't know he'd noticed them, trying to hide behind half-hearted conversations, eyes locked on the floor.

That wasn't the first time something like that happened. People or even whole teams had grudges on him and they'd survey him in a similar fashion, waiting 'til he gets into place with nobody around.

But this wasn't the case. Those guys seemed way too nervous and embarrassed after being found out, almost like they were scared of him. That wasn't rare occurrence either but you'd expect people wouldn't piss their pants just after seeing you while waiting for a chance to beat you to a pulp.

They didn't look like delinquents, just a bunch of terrified high school kids on a trip. Though they did point at him in what they though was a secret manner and whispered to each other excitedly. They stayed in the safe distance from him and it didn't look like they were planning on approaching him any time soon.

Sighing, he peeled himself from the column and leisurely walked to their center, ignoring the horrified(but somehow intrigued) looks he got. Teppei or whatever, he couldn't stand them any longer.

'Hey, freaks! Does it look I'm a fucking tourist attraction?!' he growled at them, standing in the middle of their crowd now. As far as he could see, the gathering only consisted of men and judging from their attires and the bags that swung over their shoulders, they were one of the teams that played today. Even though they were about the same height, some of them even taller than him, the only answer he got were whispers of 'whaa, scary' and 'you sure it's him' from somewhere backwards.

Hanamiya froze suddenly, realising his mistake. Their jerseys each had a little 'Seirin' logo stitched onto them. He couldn't make out their faces from the tribune, not that he cared about them at that time, but he recognised the ginger that was so friendly with Kiyoshi at the Maji burger, towering over the others with his freaky height. Teppei was as tall if not taller but Makoto failed to see his head sticking out.

'Where's that idiot?!' had he said it out aloud? It was more like a growl but the team seemed to catch that nonetheless, looking around frantically.

'You mean Teppei?' somebody asked from the rear. First audible reaction. Great.

The crowd tore up in the middle, making a way for a brunette standing at the very end. Hanamiya supposed she had to be their coach, at least from the things he'd heard from Kiyoshi and the stuff he saw on today's match.

'No, I mean fucking Santa Claus.' he retorted venomously. He was in no mood to deal with this random ridiculousness, he just wanted to see the one damn person who seemed to had evaporated into thin air.

'He'll be here in a minute.' she grinned, looking somewhere above his head. Now that he thought about it, everybody was looking there.

Just when he turned around though, two big hands covered his eyes, intent on not letting go.

'You went to see my match.' Hanamiya didn't want to admit that hearing the voice calmed him down or that he fought the urge to smile, especially when the other was obviously over the moon about the stupid gesture that almost went unnoticed.

'I can't fucking see.' he remarked instead, trying to remove the hands reducing his vision. Kiyoshi released him for a moment just to wrap his arms around his torso, hugging him like some overgrown teddy bear.

'Thanks.' Teppei gave him a quick peck on one ear, face so red Makoto could feel the heat from it. Those morons were still looking.

'I was just about to leave. You took so damned long!' he complained, but tried to keep his voice down because they had audience.

As if the sentence was some signal, the girl-coach walked next to him, suddenly grabbing one of his hands into two of hers and shook them violently.

'I'm Riko Aida. You're Hanamiya, right?' she released his tortured hand and smiled wildly. She seemed to ignore the fact that he immediately wiped his palm on the front of his jacket.

'Hey....' he leaned to whisper into Teppei's ear.

'How fast can you run?'

'Were not running from them.' the other answered, not bothering to keep the volume down.

'Actually, they wanted to meet you.' Kiyoshi smiled, his grip unyielding. Hanamiya quite liked the warmth but the fact that it rendered him unable to move already irritated him. He was starting to think that it was to insure he wouldn't run away until he'd been introduced to everybody. Teppei sure got sly, almost as if he adopted something from his personality after their time together.

'Yack..' if they were confused or insulted by his reaction, the didn't show it.

_God, if i'd known it would come to this I wouldn't have made a show of kissing Teppei in front of the four-eyes at that time._

The Riko girl went back into line, yanking the guy he was just thinking about by the sleeve, urging him to come forward. He didn't do that very willingly, judging from the scowl on his face.

_Guess I'm not up to his expectations._

'Hyuuga.' Makoto had allowed himself to guess and the dumbstruck expression said that he hit the jackpot.

'Guess I talk about you a lot.' Kiyoshi smiled, scratching his head. When there was only one arm holding him down, the escape was easy.

'Too much, actually.' Hanamiya frowned, straightening his clothes, finally free. He turned to look back at Hyuuga and found him surprisingly close.

'You do something to Kiyoshi-' the four-eyes started, yanking him by the collar. He was a bit shorter and Makoto could tell right away that he'd never been in any fight. He had no chance of winning against him. A wide dangerous grin spread across Hanamiya's features.

'Sorry, you wanted to be the first?' he taunted the other, successfully.

'Listen, you shitty...!'

'Hyuuga, stop it already!' Kiyoshi grabbed the man's shoulder, forcing him to free Makoto from his grip.

'Kiyoshi...' Junpei warned. '...that's the guy that sent people to hospital at the Junior high! I knew the face was so damned familiar!'

'I know...' Teppei sighed.

'Just let it be. Hanamiya doesn't play any more.'

'Let it be?! Breaking bones is a fucking game to him!!'

'Yeah...' Kiyoshi's lips bent into a sad smile that let all of his weariness show.

'Hyuuga, I don't feel like talking about that now, so please...' at first Junpei looked like he was about to add something but then his face softened, scared by his friend's sudden change.

'Take care then. You're leaving together, right?' Hyuuga managed lopsided smile and moved the bag strap from that one place on his shoulder where it scratched.

'See you tomorrow.' Teppei raised one corner of his mouth upwards in return. Weird, he was usually better than that.

'We'll be going too.' Hanamiya stated, yanking his sleeve. The other man just nodded.

 

 

They walked close together, letting their shoulders brush each other as they passed through the city streets.

Kiyoshi frowned because of his own reasons and Hanamiya frowned just because it was that kind of face he was born with or maybe because Kiyoshi frowned. Really, he'd never seen the man make an unhappy face for so long. It kinda upset their routine.

'Teppei.' said man snapped his head around, surprised. Makoto hardly ever called him Kiyoshi instead of idiot or some other insult. Teppei was on a whole another level.

'Are you ashamed of me now?' that made the man stop in his tracks.

'God, Hanamiya, no! Why would I think...' he sighed, faced with Hanamiya's serious gaze.

'Are you?'

'No.' he breathed out, meeting his eyes.

'You should have gotten someone different.' Makoto went on, walking past him. Teppei was quick in grabbing him, arms snaking until he held him in an embrace again.

'I guess...' he admitted. 'but I can't help the fact that I like you.'

'You're just the right size, not too tall and not too short.' he smiled, resting his head on Hanamiya's shoulder, feeling the soft but warm fabric of the jacket.

'Pretty crappy reason.'

'I got more of those.'

'I can imagine that.'

'It's just... even the first time we met, I wondered how your smile looked like...'

Makoto turned his head to face him, giving a resigned sigh.

'You're hopeless. You know there are billions of other people out there that would treat you normally. I'll only cause you trouble.' there wasn't any anger in his voice nor sadness.

'You worry too much.'

'You worry too little. One more month and you'll be sick of me not appreciating and not caring.'

'It's no good, no matter what you say, I won't let go of you. You know best that I've never been the brightest person, _Makoto_.' Hanamiya chuckled shortly, playing with Kiyoshi's hair.

'That's right, maybe you don't even understand what i'm saying.'

'Let's just go then.' he went on, waiting until Kiyoshi retraced his hands back into his pockets.

He was about to start walking again when he felt something wrap around his own hand, fingers lacing. He looked back at Teppei who only smiled at him, holding his hand in his way bigger as if they'd done it hundred times before.

'Really?!' Makoto complained, feeling the sweat roll down his palm. Additional warmth was nice in such a cold weather but this was too much.

'Just this once.' Kiyoshi pleaded, looking into his eyes.

'God, that's so lame! I won't wanna walk around with you like this!'

'Just this once.' he repeated, kissing him slowly. When they parted he heard Makoto sigh in defeat.

'Just this once.'

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, i know, i'm late... I always give myself two week deadline but look at that now!  
> X-mas had been crazy busy, sorry... T-T Hope at least this thing is worth waiting for so long. :P  
> And ups, looks like i made Hanamiya do another silly corny thing. XD  
> Anyway, next chapter will be the tenth!! Miracle! :D


	10. Home, sweet home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shoes seem to get too buddy-buddy with umbrellas,  
> Hanamiya doesn't know how to do 'relationship',  
> (but know how to cook eggs,)  
> and Kiyoshi has hard times.

'Sorry for the intrusion...'

'Don't bother, I told you nobody's home.' Hanamiya sighed, kicking of his shoes.

'Really, all year long?'

'Save for a few days, no. Paradise on Earth.'

'That must be lonely.' most people he'd brought here the past two years had exactly opposite reaction. As expected of Kiyoshi to worry about that bullshit.

'I like it.' Makoto snapped back, initiating a change of subject.

'I guess you don't have some indoor shoes for me too?' Teppei wondered, looking around the narrow hallway. Hanamiya sighed, digging through shoe cabinet only to find one pair tossed behind an umbrella in the corner.

'Here. Hurry up. I'm done with waiting for you today.' he growled, disappearing further inside the flat. Kiyoshi reluctantly followed after hanging his coat, feet aching in the small-sized slippers, almost expecting some corpse to fall down on him when he turned around the corner.

When he overcame the surprise that he wasn't surprised by anything of that sort, he quickly looked around. He was alone in what seemed to be a living room connected with both the dinning room and the kitchen.

He gingerly seated himself on a couch, admiring the view from the windows. The apartment itself wasn't very large but still not so bad considered it was near the town center and the furniture was fairly new too.

Not that it anyhow helped to calm him down, on the contrary. He'd look for Hanamiya but it seemed outright rude to peek behind all the doors just to find him.

'Hey, Hanamiya...?' he called to the empty space.

'What?!' Makoto emerged from one of the rooms, holding a grey t-shirt he was just about to put on.

'Uh, sorry.'

'It's been a month, you know.'

'What has been a month?' Kiyoshi wondered, feigning interest in a few snowflakes that the wind blew on the window.

'Since we, starte-whatever! Just that you can stare now.'

'I know.'

'Meaning you should stare now.' Teppei blushed a bit deeper, turning back slowly.

'All-right...' he answered, still not sure how to switch the look-away instinct he tried his hardest to develop over the years. Hanamiya just rolled his eyes at him, deciding to stay half-naked just to spite the other and sat down on the couch.

'Won't you be cold?' Teppei inquired, carefully. Maybe not carefully enough because Makoto shot him an angry glare in response.

'You must have a fucking special power to make everything awkward.'

'Sorry.' a big hand landed on Hanamiya's shoulder, trespassing the skin around the back of his neck to grab the other shoulder and pull him closer to face his 'boyfriend'. When he looked into those brown eyes he had the feeling he could see what was going on in the organ behind them, how it weighted the two possibilities: Am I doing it right? Or am I doing it wrong?

He sighed, pulling Kiyoshi down for a kiss because it had seemed to solve all the problems so far. At least that's a thing he should be used to after all that time.

'Everything's so complicated with you.' he complained afterwards, leaning on him comfortably.

'Really...?' Teppei's nervousness level went up again.

'Yeah, with the other guys I just dragged them here and we-'

Judging from the face the other made, there was no need to finish the sentence. It had the right amount of hurt, jealousy and self-reproached mixed in for him to get the message. Yes, he'd just done something he shouldn't have.

_Funny, so that's how guilt feels like. Damn the Kiyoshi bastard!_

'You seriously thought that you were the first to get my attention?!'

'No, just not that... you actually... You know?'

'Yeah.'

'I see.' Makoto frowned again. No, he couldn't understand the way the other's brain worked after all. They were way too different.

'I just... I've never really been in a relationship befo-'

'Are you kidding?' Teppei shook his head, eyes glued to the floor, for some reason feeling like the child that just got scolded by it's parent. Out of the two of them, he was the weird one now. At least until Hanamiya chuckled, slowly breaking into laughter. The warm air breathed out at his collar gave the taller male pleasant goosebumps.

'Not a single kiss?'

'I got kissed on the head from a girl once when I was younger. Does that count?' getting the other to laugh again sure helped Kiyoshi to loosen up.

Makoto got up suddenly, shaking the hand around his shoulders off, and finally took on the shirt he tossed on the floor.

'Hungry?' maybe he missed something but Teppei was now baffled what sort of 'hunger' was the topic of conversation.

'Are you cooking?' he went for the first option, trying not to make his confusion show.

'Surprised? Every idiot can make scrambled eggs. Not that I got anything else left in the fridge...' Makoto checked again to make sure of that.

'I'm okay with the eggs.' Kiyoshi said, pushing back the thought that he'd love to let Hanamiya taste grandma's cooking sometime.

'You better be.'

 

 

'They're good.' or at least that's how Makoto translated the sounds Kiyoshi made while he ate. As expected. One would have to be unbelievably terrible at cooking to not to get praised by him.

Still, Hanamiya couldn't help the feeling that it should had all gone a different way. It would had been easy if it was somebody else. 'Hi, that's my house, that's my bed and now do your job.' He seriously had no idea if there were any other fun things people did when they had a guest.

'Hey, Kiyoshi...' said man looked up from his plate, not bothering to stop stuffing his cheeks with the food.

'Wanna do it?'

Makoto seriously regretted having said that when a bit of scrambled egg found his face just a few milliseconds later. Kiyoshi almost choked at that time, but somehow managed to stay alive thanks to Hanamiya slapping his back )(generously) and a glass of water.

'Shouldn't we get more i-intimate first?' Teppei managed to ask, confusing the other even further.

'What's more intimate than having sex?!'

'I meant that... we should talk about stuff and... start slowly?'

'Haven't we been doing that for ages now?' Makoto propped his chin on his elbow, observing the other closely.

'I already know more about you than any other person I know.' he growled. It didn't seem to help anything because Teppei was in the exactly opposite situation.

Makoto kept scowling. Now that he thought about it, all the people he ever got involved with weren't exactly your perfect examples of normal and he spent most of his life trying not get much involved with normals. Meaning he didn't have a clue how standard people did relationships.

'Then sorry...' Teppei apologised, seeming to had lost his appetite.

That was the second time Hanamiya managed to get them into this kind of situation in a space of an hour. If this goes on, not even Kiyoshi would stand him much longer. Should he do it then, for the sake of some sort of peace?

_I fucking hate that, it's so humiliating! But I guess it can't be helped._

He took a deep breath, an act that caught the others attention.

'I'm in the wrong.'

'You're what?' Kiyoshi seemed to have forgotten the meaning of the phrase. Hanamiya furrowed his brows and repeated the phrase, stressing every word.

'I'm in the wrong here.'

'Is that a question?'

'Does it fucking sound like a question?!'

'Are you telling me...' Teppei smiled. 'that that's you apologising?'

Makoto glared at him but Kiyoshi smiled even wider.

'Are you blushing?'

If there weren't just the two of them, Hanamiya would have sworn it had been directed at somebody else. He touched one cheek, almost dismissing it as a joke or proof that Teppei was going blind but then he felt the warmth, blood rushing into the soft tissue.

'You rubbed your damn face-heater infection on me!!' he snapped at him, rubbing his face furiously. He couldn't even remember the last time this had happened to him.

'I wish Riko was here to see this...' Kiyoshi kept smiling, fighting his laughter.

'You look quite cute like this.' Makoto grimaced at that, sticking out his tongue.

'Thanks, now I'll get sick just from looking at my reflection.' he stood up, taking his dish with him. He almost dropped it when he heard a loud crash.

'What the...?! The hell did you do?'

Teppei was laying on his back amidst few bowls and sauces, the table that had been there standing ground just a minute ago flipped aside.

'I lost my balance getting up and fell on the table.' Kiyoshi said through gritted teeth, pushing himself into sitting position.

'I'm sorry about the mess. Did I break something?'

'Just spilled everything you could, idiot. You'll have to walk home in your sweaty stuff if you don't want people to think you shitted yourself, you got soy sauce fucking everywhere!'

'I guess so...'

'Are you okay?' Makoto frowned, forgetting that it wasn't supposed to be considerate when he noticed how the other avoided putting any sort of pressure on his leg.

'Yeah, just got a little dizzy.'

'Sure.' Hanamiya sighed, helping Kiyoshi up.

'You better take it easy the next match...'

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ten! Never would have thought i'd write anything as long as that...!   
> Thanks everybody, esp those of you who comment-really, you're awesome XD  
> Also, if you're wondering, the table in question was the shorter/traditional japanase one, not the western.  
> Next on PA: soy sauce vs vanish!!(jk)


	11. Good accidents and bad accidents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kiyoshi doesn't know how to properly wash stuff,  
> Hanamiya carries around fluffy blankets for no reason,  
> Izuki is about to congratulate,  
> trains don't wait for nobody,  
> and the Yosen match is finally here!

'Think it'll dry?'

'You can hope.' Makoto answered, leaning onto bathroom door frame, enjoying the view of Kiyoshi wearing only his underwear, standing in the bathroom too small for somebody of his proportions as he washed his clothes in the basin like some caricature on a modern house wife.

'Can I borrow some of your clothes?' Teppei asked, frowning at his garments, presently floating in a brownish pool.

'No.'

'Thank-why?!' he snapped around, surprised by the unexpected response.

'I don't want my stuff to stink like you.' Kiyoshi dared to roll his eyes and almost jumped thinking he'll get his punishment for it when he saw Makoto walking to him.

When he was just behind the taller man he leaned close enough to cause shivers run down Teppei's spine with every breath, head almost resting in the crook of the other's neck.

'Though it ain't so bad.' Kiyoshi somehow managed to nod to that, trying to evade looking into the mirror because he knew he'd be met with his own alarmingly red face.

'Nobody's here, what's stopping you from walking 'round like this?' Makoto teased with voice as low as a cat's purr. And no, Teppei just didn't imagine him as a real cat, not at all!

'Can I at least get a blanket?' he started negotiating, quite resigned on the fact that he'll have to stay half naked throughout the whole time. Hanamiya seemed ready to turn down the suggestion but he gave up in the end, sighing.

'Whatever.' he shrugged, moving to the next room. Kiyoshi proceeded to wring all the water out of his clothes, hanging them on any convenient surface. Judging from the muted sounds from the living room, Makoto had gotten tired of waiting for him and turned on the tv.

Teppei dried his hands, hurrying to join the other, wincing when he got something thrown at him just when he stepped over the threshold. The blanket, if he could even call it that, looked like a dozen tribbles sewed together and he had the urge to bury his face in it just to test if the fur was as soft as it looked.

He resisted, throwing it over his shoulders instead to keep warm because really, it was pretty cold here. Hanamiya must had noticed him because he heard him snort at the outfit.

Kiyoshi sat down next to him on a couch, half focused on whatever program was being broadcast while trying to wrap the blanket all around himself in a pattern that would guarantee minimal loss of his body heat.

'It's still cold.' Makoto sighed at the complaint, deciding if it was worth the bother or not. He moved closer, practically tearing Kiyoshi's only cover from his body, seating himself down on his lap.

'Better?!' he growled, turning his attention back to the television while he tried to find himself a way to comfortably rest on Teppei's body that was after all his basketball training as hard as a brick wall and about as pleasant to lie onto.

The fact that the other man just had the brilliant idea to lie down wasn't helping either as he got thrown off in the process.

'Just fucking stay in one place!'

'Oh, sorry...' Kiyoshi muttered, helping him to pick himself up from the floor and Makoto would have hit him if only he wasn't wearing the face that had 'forgive me' written all over it in capital letters and wasn't... Kiyoshi. Because that person always seemed to get an extra treatment for some reason.

Finally after what seemed like an ages, by some miracle and the help of the magic of raw power, they got into a position that wasn't mentally or physically taxing for the both of them.

Teppei lay across the sofa on his side, head resting on a pillow and his feet sticking out to the air because regular furniture wasn't designed for giants. He had one hand thrown over Hanamiya who lied next to him, fruitlessly trying to convince himself that this whole mess hadn't initially been his idea.

'If a word about this gets out, I'm killing you.' he warned, half crazy from how the edge of the furry blanket kept tickling his face with his every move.

Teppei only pulled the other man closer, smile hid in his mess of a black hair. Seriously, he had quite the trouble discerning it from the fabric in this dim light. In all this warmth, snuggled in and as tired as he was from today's match, it was no wonder he was starting to feel sleepy. He must be careful not t-

 

 

'Huh? Do you know what time is it?' he suddenly woke up, hand sliding up his thigh just to be reminded that he wasn't even wearing any pants let alone carrying his phone. When had he fallen asleep?! The sky behind the windows was pitch-black.

'What, wanna go home?' Makoto's voice sounded heavy almost as if he was just woken up but when he turned around, his face had a wide grin plastered on it.

'Oh! That's horrible!' he faked dismay, throwing his arms around Teppei's neck.

'I think the last bus to shithole-wherever had already left!'

'It can't be that late!' Kiyoshi got up with some difficulty, finding his way back to his stuff after he managed to trip over few unexpected things he never knew were there, still half-asleep.

Finally, he got to his phone. 23:39, he was screwed!

'God, I need to call home to tell-'

'I already did.'

'You did what?!'

'You had no lock screen and your grandma was such a nice understanding lady.'

'What did you say?!!' Kiyoshi's hands balled into fists, teeth gritted.

'Some bullshit. The team went for dinner to celebrate, we had some strategy time and then you went with me to Hyuuga's for no reason and fell asleep there and will have to stay the night-poor you! I, as a good first year, gave the call. Isn't that how it happened?'

Teppei took a long deep breath, leaning on the wall. He almost had a heart-attack but him staying at friend's place was common enough. He half expected something like he got completely wasted but it seemed that Hanamiya knew him better than that. Plus, his grandma hardly remembered Izuki or Koganei so not knowing the first years wouldn't seem anyhow odd to her.

'You're terrifying...' Teppei smiled shortly, relief washing over him.

'I get that a lot.' Makoto grinned, waiting for the taller man to huddle back to him, already missing about 220 pounds of solid warmth.

'Just wake me if something like that happens next time.' Kiyoshi sighed, returning back to his place, pair of pale hands already snaking around his body.

'I'm not that sure about that since it worked up pretty sweet.' Hanamiya bit his ear gently. At least Teppei guessed that's his boyfriend did 'gentle'. He just hoped that the neck wasn't next on his list now that everybody in the team knew about them.

'Plus, the angry look suited you.' Kiyoshi just shook his head, kissing him because he couldn't think of anything to answer to that.

 

 

'Took you long enough.' Izuki complained when Kiyoshi finally appeared at the set place in the morning, later then usual but luckily not that late for punishment from Riko.

'Sorry, I didn't even get home from the match yesterday.' he replied, nervous when Shun gave him a look of pure amazement.

'You mean you were like...?'

'No- no! If you think what I think you're thinking than no!'

'You smell like soy sauce.' Izuki observed and Teppei had to smile at that, straightening his clothes.

'I fell down on a table.'

'So you went down on a table rather than him.' Izuki chuckled and Kiyoshi just raised an eyebrow but smiled nonetheless.

'But really, we're against Yosen next. You went against Murasakibara before, right?' Teppei nodded.

'I'm sure their defence isn't that impenetrable.'

'Ever the optimist.' Kiyoshi just smiled, patting his shoulder.

'I'm sure, with this team, we can do it this time!'

 

 

Murasakibara's giant form appeared before him, one big hand swatting the ball away easily.

Shit! Can't he even do this much?!

Kiyoshi dashed back under the basket, exchanging looks with Kagami. His knees were on fire again and he didn't know for how much longer he'd be able to run let alone stand but he can't let the other one win. Not after all that Atsushi had said to him.

The man was getting closer, leaping for the jump shot. He easily broke through their two-man defence, sending them flying backwards to meet the floor.

The impact shook Teppei's body when his feet hit the ground. His left leg gave up and he tilted sideways, all his weight on his right. He made few jumps, desperately trying to regain balance, soles of his shoes slipping. His leg twisted to the side under the weight. A sharp crack followed, like a taut string snapping, resonating through the entire hall.

For a second, horrified silence swallowed everything, then Kiyoshi screamed.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, I'm back again! Hope you don't hate me know? -.-'  
> Really, given the state Kiyoshi's knees were in, it was only a matter of time(sorry).   
> Aaaand there are only two matches left 'til the end!  
> Also, i assure you that no tribbles were harmed in the making of this chapter. :D  
> ...bye?...


	12. Cricket heaven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kiyoshi might just die from vitamin overdose,  
> we all love Riko but not her protein cooking,  
> Kagami isn't as fearless as he seems,  
> Kuroko can probably read minds,  
> and good crickets go to heaven.

'Kiyoshi Teppei.' Hanamiya repeated for what seemed like the tenth time.

The woman just blinked, slowly, staring at him with her unmoving eyes.

'Are you a relative?'

'No. I'm a... friend.' she looked at her computer and back at him.

'He sure has a lot friends.'

'Too many.' Makoto growled, itching to just open all the department doors himself to find that idiot. It still seemed less time consuming than this and he didn't have much time left till the end of visits.

She finally nodded, directing him to the far left, number 78, before returning back to her 'work'.

Hanamiya frowned at the white wooden doors, wondering if he's supposed to knock before entering but he never did and certainly didn't feel like starting now.

Kiyoshi sat on his hospital bed, looking out of the window and didn't bother to look up when the doors opened.

'What is it?' his voice was flat but somehow rough at the edges. Makoto didn't like that.

'Medical check up, idiot.' he could see him tense when he heard the familiar voice. He'd recognised him.

'I didn't know you'd find out so quickly, Hanamiya.' He turned around, corners of his lips climbing upwards just for a moment before falling down again as if they were too exhausted to withstand it any longer. His eyes were red and his knuckles white as he clutched his bedsheets tightly.

'Kiyoshi?'

It wasn't meant to be a question but Makoto's voice went up at the end nonetheless. The person didn't quite look like Kiyoshi any more. It was frightening. Hanamiya suddenly felt like leaving and only returning when the person he knew comes back.

Mouth a thin line, he walked to the window, gaze not wavering from the figure in front of him. He sat next to Teppei, kicking off his shoes so he could put his feet up on the bed.

'I screwed up.' Kiyoshi didn't look at him, focusing on a faraway wall to keep his eyes dry.

'Pretty much.' Makoto found his hands sliding up and down his thighs in some sort of effort to calm himself down while he tried to keep his voice in line.

'I-i, Murasakibara- I didn't...' his insides were a tight knot curling and uncurling. He'd never comforted anybody nor had he felt any need to, he got the feeling that he could only make everything worse by staying here.

'...I didn't even... stand a c-chance. This season, with the whole team-'

'I know.' his voice came out flat, almost alien and Makoto had to overcome the urge to touch his neck to feel that the words were truly coming out from him.

Teppei covered his eyes with his hands, keeping them shut in the darkness.

'Teppei...' the foreign voice again.

'...it had to happen anyway. You'll just come back next year, right?' the other man just shook his head.

'I don't know if i'll come back at all. With my knees like this... i'd hardly last one season before going under knife again.'

'I guess so...' Hanamiya bit his lip, he sucked at this and had already run out of arguments. Gingerly outstretching his hand he petted Kiyoshi's hair gently. When there was no reaction he repeated it, daring to dive his fingers into the brown hair.

'Hanamiya...'

'Uhm?'

'What are you doing?' there was a shard of smile on Teppei's face when he looked up in puzzlement, wiping his wet eyes with his sleeve.

'Comforting you. It goes something like this, right?'

'Are you serious?' when Makoto only frowned at that, Kiyoshi smiled a little wider, dragging him closer and didn't mind when the other used the opportunity to steal few kisses.

'I don't get why I even bother.' Hanamiya made a hurt face as he snuggled in. Teppei rested his head on the offered shoulder as if it was to fall off his neck at any time.

'When are you getting out of here?'

'In two weeks? Week if I won't need surgery for the other knee too I guess...' Makoto nodded. Two weeks seemed awfully long and he hated waiting. He played with the hem of Kiyoshi's shirt, sliding one hand underneath it.

'Hana-don't! Your hands are cold!' Teppei jumped when he felt the icy fingers searching his chest.

'Don't you call me Hana!'

'Visitor time is over!' the sharp knock on the doors and the following announcement had the both of them flying from each other just in time and when the nurse entered Hanamiya was seemingly focused with putting his shoes back on. Not that that wasn't suspicious, at least judging from the look she gave him.

'Thank you.' Teppei smiled at her and Makoto had to swallow his not very polite equivalent. When it looked like he was just getting ready to leave any minute, she disappeared behind the doors with a short nod, on her way to disturb more visits.

'Gotta go.' he shrugged his shoulders, hands hid safely in the pockets of his hoodie.

'Take care then. Thanks... for the visit...'

'I'll come by again tomorrow.'

'You don't need to, really. Your school must be pretty difficult too!'

'Don't be ridiculous, I could fucking teach there any time. And it's not as if I have anything better to do anyway.'

_More like nothing aside from this seems worthwhile any more._

'I see. Then I'll wait.' Teppei smiled.

 

 

'Kiyoshi-senpai, I brought you some orangeaah! What are those!!' Kagami eyed all the fruits covering the small bedside table, horrified.

'I got quite a lot of visits... seems like everybody thinks I need vitamins...' Teppei scratched his head, chuckling.

'That's good thin-'

'KUROKO!!' Taiga jumped again when his team mate seemingly popped out of nowhere right next to him, still unable to get used to that one oddity. Tetsuya sighed, looking almost hurt for a second.

'But you begged me to go with you, Kagami-kun.'

'Geez, sorry! It's really hard to notice you!' Kuroko pouted or at least made an expression faintly resembling that.

'Good afternoon, Kiyoshi-senpai.' he turned his attention back to their patient, ignoring the man standing next to him.

'Ah, Kuroko-kun, good to see you!'

'I heard that Hyuuga-senpai got you some fruits earlier so I brought some sweets. Is that alright?'

'More than alright! Thank you!' Kiyoshi flashed him a bright smile, accepting the offered package. Any kind of candy was better than the endless citrus flood.

'I-i brought some oranges and... apples?' Kagami announced, looking into his bag to check it.

'Do you still want those?' he asked uncertainly.

'Of course, thanks. How was the Kaijou match?'

'It was a little tough on the defence but we pulled ahead.' Kuroko reported.

'Super tough!' Taiga corrected, grinning.

'I see. We finally got into the finals, good luck!' Kiyoshi smiled, putting one candy in his mouth. Kagami was about to continue enthusiastically narrating the events of the match but Tetsuya stopped him, frowning. He could hear the words left unsaid. Finally in the finals but without me.

'Is it the kind you like?' he changed the topic fluently.

'Uh-the candy? Never had these before but they're good, thanks again.'

'Hey, Kuroko!' Taiga complained about getting cut off.

'Ah, Kagami-kun, do you like insects?' Teppei suddenly remembered to ask.

'Hmm, not really but if it's not a spider or wasp...' Kagami frowned, baffled by the random question.

'Then would you...' Kiyoshi rummaged in all the get well gifts hidden in the drawer of his bedside table until he found what he'd been looking for.

'...take this?' he handed the other man an oily paper bag, only confusing him further.

'What is it?' Kuroko asked, looking over his team-mates shoulder, curious.

'Hanamiya's get well gift. He got it from one market near his school.'

'Disgusting...' Kagami wailed quietly, holding the bag at an arm length from his body as if all the roasted crickets could suddenly come back from cricket heaven and crawl onto him.

'Kagami-kun, being scared of dogs and even bugs, aren't you ashamed?' Kuroko said, deadpan.

'Shut up! Like i'd ever eat one, that's normal reaction! Right Kiyoshi-senpai?'

'Well, if you don't want it, i'll eat it. It was a gift after all.' Teppei's face got suddenly darker.

'After Riko's cooking everything is...' he couldn't finish the sentence, traumatising memories resurfacing.

'Don't push yourself, we understand.' Taiga patted the man's shoulder, horrified when he found Kuroko experimentally putting one bug in his mouth and munching on it.

'They're quite good and also full of nutrients and protein. I'm sure they'll help with the muscle building. You should also have one, Kagami-kun.'

'No way in hell! Don't eat them in front of me!!'

'Can I have one too? It would be unfair to Hanamiya when he went to all this trouble.'

'I think it is more probable that he just wanted to see your disgusted expression.' Tetsuya replied but passed the bag nonetheless.

'Maybe a little but I don't mind, I know he cares. A lot.' Teppei smiled as he crunched the cricket with his teeth.

'But you can have the bag.' he added, grimacing.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Firstly-wow!! We have 50 kudos!! *!!thanks!!* :O  
> Also, about this chapter- if you're wondering why Hanamiya got that edgy when his name got cut into just 'Hana' then it means flower in Japanese. Well, Hanamiya has that kanji in his name but sure doesn't mean he likes being called flower :P  
> About the crickets, while it isn't common today, Japan has a tradition of insect eating especially in the more rural areas. Not that i have anything against eating insects(yummy!!).  
> And all crickets go to heaven because they've done nothing wrong-not as if they could tell the difference between hell and heaven anyway though. XD


	13. New phrase

'So many stairs...' Kiyoshi sighed looking up. The fact that there was no elevator and Hanamiya lived on the fourth floor had never seemed to bother him before.

'I'm not gonna carry you.' Makoto shook his head dismissively, taking two stairs at a time, disappearing out of sight with all their bags. Teppei took a deep breath, bracing himself on the crutches before jumping up onto the first stair. He somehow managed to regain his balance on the slippery surface though he highly doubted he'd be that lucky with the next seventy nine more.

Well, at least he was finally out of the hospital, sooner than expected. He would had bought the tickets for the match but with it being the finals he really had no chance of still getting some. Maybe it's better this way, not having to face the others just after the match.

He slipped and almost fell, hands flailing until he grabbed a handrail hammered to the wall, both crutches falling out of his hands, rattling as they rolled down onto the landing. Kiyoshi sighed, wiping one of his sweaty palms on his trousers. He was stuck in the middle of the staircase to the 2 nd floor and better yet, had to hop back so he could start the whole ordeal anew. He officially hated stairs. 

He heard somebody running down and kept his head low until they passed him but the person walked the stairs up again, stopping right next to him.

'How clumsy can you get?!' Makoto shook his head when he handed him the crutches though it was far from a serious scolding.

'Sorry...' Teppei smiled apologetically, turning the handles over in his hands before he dared to continue.

'It's gonna start soon.' Hanamiya noted. Hearing Kiyoshi mutter something that had to be a curse, he grabbed one of the crutches, throwing Teppei's arm over his shoulders.

'Plays basketball for years and can't climb fucking stairs.' he grinned when they started walking again.

 

 

'Time's up. Seirin High wins the Winter Cup!!' voice from the television announced the results and the stadium suddenly exploded with an excited shouting that forced Hanamiya to turn the volume down. The fact that Kiyoshi had been cheering his team in the similar fashion for at least an hour was even worse.

Makoto let out a tired sigh, glad that this was over him at last. Teppei was crying but probably from happiness because he was smiling most of the time. Not that he was an expert when it came to other people's emotions though.

'105 to 106!!' Kiyoshi roared suddenly and almost had Hanamiya falling down from the sofa from the shock.

'Uh, sorry.' he smiled again, taking a tissue for his runny nose.

'I wish I could had been there.' he went on, bitterness creeping in to his tone.

'So you could break your knee there with all the fanfares?' Makoto pointed out, bumping into his shoulder softly.

Phone started ringing, interrupting whatever reply Kiyoshi wanted to retort with. He stood up, orienting a little better in the dim darkness then he did his last visit, careful not to put any weight on his right leg.

'It's Hyuuga.' Teppei sniffed, wiping his nose. His shoulders were shaking a little as he sat down on the couch again, tears running down his face.

'You're not going to pick it up?' Hanamiya asked carefully.

'He'll call later and I'll just apologise, he won't be mad.' Kiyoshi gazed at the display, flashing in the dark. The annoying ringing wasn't stopping.

'They'll still think the worst if you don't pick it up.'

'I don't want them to feel guilty because I'm useless.' he blew his nose with another tissue, eyes on the television where the shocked sports commentator kept repeating the scores to an emptied stadium.

'Like something could spoil the mood there now.'

Teppei shook his head shortly in response. Makoto frowned, grabbing the phone himself because the ringtone was driving him crazy.

_Just try and play nice._

'Kiyoshi!! We won! Won the-' the exuberant shouting from the other end filled the small room together with the huffing filling the spaces in between.

'Yeah, we saw it.' the babbling was instantly replaced with a tense silence.

'Give me Kiyoshi.' Makoto threw a glance at the man sitting next to him wildly gesturing to end the call and chuckled.

'Sorry, he's too excited to even speak...' does that sound cheerful enough without being forced? Is he supposed to be happy for them?

'...he'll train hard to catch up so he can win the next Winter cup with all of you...' Teppei stopped moving all together which was even worse.

Hanamiya gritted his teeth.

_Wow, I finally caught his douchebag._

There was a short silence from the person on the line only interrupted with some lively talk in the background.

'You even tell the same lies as him now.' Hyuuga sighed.

'Not as if those are anything hard to figure out.'

'No, they're not...' Junpei was silent for a while before adding '...just tell him we'll be waiting for him.'

'Sure.'

'Hanamiya...'

'You remember, I'm so damn fluttered.'

'Take a good care of him you hear?!' he ended the call before Hanamiya had a chance to retort something.

_Like you're the one to talk._

'Good?' Kiyoshi asked quietly.

'He wasn't shouting at me so that should count as good.'

'Why did you even answer that?!' Teppei frowned, taking his phone back. Makoto shrugged his shoulders.

'The second option was flushing it down the toilet.' Kiyoshi chuckled lightly, wiping his eyes.

'Back to the dry state?' a short nod followed with a smile.

'You must be fed up with seeing me this pathetic.' he said, voice controlled.

'Whatever but you better get over it soon or I'll start feeling sorry for you. Though it sure is fun walking you around, it's almost as if I got a pet.' Makoto grinned, sitting himself astride on Kiyoshi's lap, chuckling when he went full tomato.

'Glad that at least you are happy about that.' he responded, smiling a bit lopsided while he tried his hardest to direct his blood flow to some other body part than where it seemed to be going.

'Makoto...' the other man nodded shortly but cut of the rest of the sentence with a kiss.

'Makoto,...'

'Just fucking spit it out already.' Hanamiya tried changing his position a bit, eyes falling on the clocks on the wall.

'And shouldn't you be getting ready for the bus and shit?'

'About that, I wanted to ask if I could... stay here overnight...' Kiyoshi wrapped his arms around him, trying how long could he hold an eye contact before he gets too embarrassed.

'Like I'd kick you out.' Makoto tilted his head, unaware of the little challenge going on.

'Even if it's more like... the your kind of stay overnight...' and the levels of confusion kept rising.

'My what?!'

'Don't mind it. So I can stay overnight?'

'Didn't I say that already?! What the hell, just tell me what is the whole 'my kind' of stay thing.' Hanamiya frowned, thick eyebrows almost connecting.

'You know, I thought about stuff and I guess it's okay if... we do the thing now... I-i don't mean now like now but... you know...?' Kiyoshi buried his face in Makoto's chest, getting more and more embarrassed, stumbling on his words. It took Hanamiya quite a long time to decipher that, going from 'do popcorn' to 'do leg massage' before finally stopping at 'do a round in the bed'.

'Are you sure?' it took a lot of his self restraint to stop himself from voicing his first thought: 'What???!' Not that he wanted to talk him out of it but this was Kiyoshi. He'd expect having sex came as a bonus after reaching the highest level involving two year relationship and dinners with the family.

_Where's the catch?_

'Yeah,... I really... want to do it with you... I don't mean like today or... something, really... just...' were Teppei's cheeks burning a hole into his t-shirt? Sure felt like that. Hanamiya opened his mouth and closed it again.

'Are you an idiot?' he finally asked, resting his head on the other's shoulder with a light chuckle.

'Is that yes or no?'

'Maybe something like 'hell yeah'.'

 

 

'How did it go?'

'Oh, sorry, you have no way of knowing that, you were here after all.'

'Did I hurt you?'

'Seven.'

'Seven on the pain scale?'

'No, you idiot, that's the seventh time you've asked me that!!' Hanamiya growled, burying his face in a pillow.

'Sorry, but I think I lost myself when th-'

'The only way it'd be possible for you to hurt me that way would be after you grow spikes on your cock.' Makoto couldn't help but grin when he found Teppei checking it, just in case.

'C'mon, Hanamiya, I really mean it!'

'What's wrong with me being fine?!! Care more about that damned malfunctioning leg of yours.'

'I mean it's really-' Hanamiya put a finger on his mouth, shaking his head.

'I just wanna lie here, calm. Just shut up and enjoy it while you can.' short nod in response. Kiyoshi pulled him closer for a kiss, smiling when Hanamiya closed his eyes afterwards, going to sleep.

'Makoto...'

'Calm...' quiet warning.

'I love you.'

'Sure you do, sleep.' Makoto waved his hand dismissively, not bothering to open his eyes.

'Goodnight.' Teppei smiled, hugging the other man tightly. There was only the sound of their breathing and maybe the traffic down on the highway. Hanamiya squirmed a little, wondering if the other man noticed he'd put his hand on his, securing it in place.

'Hey, Kiyoshi...' there was an understanding nod.

'...guess that's a pretty pointless thing to say to somebody with your personality but if you ever cheat on me you're dead.'

'Are you still planning on keeping me then?' a long pause then quietly:

'Not like I'd find somebody better.'

'I love you too.'

'Did you just learn that phrase or what?!'

'You don't have to be embarrassed.'

'I'm not.'

'Your cheeks are red.'

'Bullshit, it's dark, there's no way you'd know that.'

'They're warm to the touch.'

'Just shut up!'

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, everybody.   
> You might remember me, I'm the person who kept you waiting for a month-sorry!!!! T-T  
> Anyway, thirteen chapters was the first for me and it's also my first time showing my creation to the world like this and I would have given up long ago without your support so big thanks to you. I didn't expect it to get such a big hallo so I'm really glad!! :D   
> While I had my fun with this I'm also happy that I can start new multi chapter projects now(that is if I ever think out a solid plot to something) so even though this is goodbye I'll try and show my face again sometime soon. :P  
> And once again, thanks!


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